Update: Here we go again...

Despite initial reports suggesting Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn would set aside a planned vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May after the prime minister called for a vote on her Brexit plan next month (Labour had called for May to hold an "immediate" vote, or face another leadership challenge, this time before all of Parliament), Corbyn told reporters Monday that he would table a motion calling for the vote.

Notably, the DUP, the Northern Ireland party consisting of just 10 MPs who have helped prop up May's minority government, earlier refused to say whether it would back or oppose the no confidence motion. The party has been pushed to the point of mutiny by May over its objections to the backstop.

During remarks on Monday, May doubled-down on her insistence that MPs must choose between 'her deal' or 'no deal', defying Labour's push for a second referendum, which May said wouldn't necessarily prove divisive in determining a way forward for Brexit (or its cancellation).

It's worth noting that Corbyn's motion isn't a no confidence motion in the government - rather, it focuses exclusively on the prime minister. After last week's Tory no confidence vote and today's umpteenth attempt to press the EU for a better deal, Brexit is beginning to resemble a nightmarish loop from which there's no escape.

The year is 2192: Theresa May's zombie has just survived its 283,485th vote of no confidence and is on its way to Greater Berlinia - Western Zone to negotiate the 283,484th extension of Brexit with Jean-Claude Juncker's zombie — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 17, 2018

Labour will table the motion tonight (Corbyn said it would be tabled 'immediate;y'). Once again, this will not lead to a general election...think of it as a 'formal reprimand' of the prime minister.

Labour will table the actual motion tonight, Corbyn saw 'mood of the house' after earlier statement so they decided to act — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 17, 2018

Theresa May was less than thrilled when Corbyn said he would table the motion of no confidence...

VOTE of no confidence in Theresa May tabled by Jeremy Corbyn 👍



"This house has no confidence in the Prime Minister due to her failure to allow a #MeaningfulVote"



The drained look on her face is priceless and she flees from the chamber at the end!#BrexitChaos pic.twitter.com/nJqy7xR4TB — dave M ❄️ 🥕 (@davemacladd) December 17, 2018

Eurosceptic Tories are planning to back the PM in the Labour-organized vote, saying they will "respect the democratic decision of our party."

Steve Baker: “Eurosceptic Conservatives are clear that we accept the democratic decision of our Party to have confidence in Theresa May as PM. We will vote against Labour in any confidence motion.” — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 17, 2018

* * *

Days after Theresa May threatened to call a vote on her doomed Brexit plan before Christmas in a bid to exert more leverage over unyielding European leaders, who on Friday snubbed the prime minister over her desperate pleas that the Brexit withdrawal agreement be changed to incorporate "legally binding assurances" that the Irish backstop being triggered wouldn't result in the UK being trapped in the EU customs union, May is apparently moving ahead with her plans to call a vote on the deal, which she revealed on Monday would be set for Jan. 14.

The prime minister had called off a planned vote on her deal last week, pushing rebellious Brexiters to force a no confidence vote among the Tories, as her cabinet warned that the deal was virtually guaranteed to be voted down. Since then, little has changed in terms of the vote count.

After her cabinet ministers spent the weekend pushing back against reports that they were already laying the groundwork for a second referendum, or at least a series of informal "indicative" votes about alternatives to May's deal, May has returned to her position that it's either her deal, or no deal. She also reiterated that EU leaders do not want to use the backstop - implying that Parliament should set aside its concerns about take the Europeans at their word.

Following reports that Labour would call for a vote of no confidence in May's government if she didn't immediately call for a vote on her Brexit deal - reports that Labour later walked back, saying they would hold off so long as May set a date for a vote - May warned MPs that they shouldn't help Corbyn trigger another general election, which she said would not be "in the national interest" since it would only create more chaos. She also decried Corbyn's claims that Parliament could win a better deal by voting down May's plan as a "fiction".

May added that it wouldn't be right to extend the Article 50 deadline. And though May has said she wouldn't support another referendum, polls have shown that UK voters would likely opt to remain if they were given another shot at the vote.

But May argued that another referendum wouldn’t necessarily be decisive - because, if the remainers win, what would stop leavers for pushing for ‘best out of three’?

In other words, May is right back where she started this month, meaning virtually no progress has been made toward achieving a deal over the past three weeks. Or, as Corbyn put it in his response to May's remarks, the prime minister has reverted to her plan of running down the clock to Brexit Day, hoping to leave MPs with a stark choice between her deal and no deal. He also accused May of leading a "shambolic" negotiating process that has done little but waste time, something that, we imagine, a growing number of MPs would agree with.

And while May said she expects talks with the EU will continue into the new year, it's not entirely clear what she expects to discuss. More importantly, May confirmed that her government is "stepping up" preparations for a no deal exit. The BoE and No. 10 published projections in late November for what a 'no deal' scenario would look like in terms of its long-term impact on economic growth (projections, which we have dubbed "Project Fear"). As the chart reflects, a no-deal exit could lower GDP by 10% over 5 years relative to the pre-Brexit trend.