MPs have approved Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill in the House of Commons, paving the way for the PM to do as he promised and ‘get Brexit done’.

The European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill commits Britain to leaving the EU on January 31 and to ending trade talks with the EU by the end of 2020.

The bill cleared its first Commons hurdle after MPs approved giving it a second reading by 358 votes to 234, a majority of 124.

Opening debate on the second reading of the bill this morning the PM said: ‘We will be able to move forward together.

‘The Bill ensures that the implementation period must end on January 31 with no possibility of an extension.

‘And it paves the path for a new agreement on our future relationship with our European neighbours based on an ambitious free-trade agreement, with no alignment on EU rules, but instead control of our own laws and close and friendly relations.’

Trade experts and EU officials say striking a free trade deal within 11 months will be a struggle, but the PM insists he won’t agree to any more delays, and the bill has been amended to bar ministers from agreeing to extend the transition period beyond 2020.

Business leaders fear this decision may mean the country will face a ‘no-deal’ Brexit at the start of 2021.

This morning Mr Johnson declared the labels ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ as ‘defunct’ as he pleaded with MPs to avoid further Brexit delay.

He said the bill must not be seen as a victory for one party or faction before adding: ‘This is the time when we move on and discard the old labels of Leave and Remain.

‘In fact, the very words seem tired to me – as defunct as Big-enders and Little-enders, or Montagues and Capulets at the end of the play.

‘Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one United Kingdom, filled with renewed confidence in our national destiny and determined at last to take advantage of the opportunities that now lie before us.’

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the PM’s Brexit plan will launch the UK into a ‘race to the bottom’ for a trade deal with the US.

He also criticised Mr Johnson’s decision to remove from his bill a promise that workers’ rights will not be eroded after Brexit.

He said the prime minister should ‘commit in legislation’ that workers’ rights in Britain should not fall behind the rights of workers within the EU.

The government has said it will enshrine employment rights in separate legislation to the withdrawal bill.

Mr Corbyn also said ‘shame on this Government’ after sections of the bill relating to offering sanctuary to orphans and unaccompanied children were also removed.

Labour MPs had been whipped to vote against Mr Johnson’s bill but some were expected to rebel and support the PM.

Echoing slogans he repeated throughout his general election campaign, the prime minister this morning said: ‘The oven is on, it is set at gas mark 4, we can have it done by lunchtime.’

The bill is now expected to complete its passage through Parliament in January, before it needs to be ratified by the European Parliament.

European Parliament vice president Pedro Silva Pereira said officials expect that to happen by January 29.

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