Nicola Lamb: Why May is playing a game of chicken over Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May is playing a game of chicken over Brexit.

Her decision to kick the parliamentary vote on Brexit to uncomfortably close to the finish line is all about scaring reluctant MPs to toe the line.

May's pitch is essentially 'if you reject this deal, you get a no-deal Brexit'.

May is often depicted in the British press as weak and indecisive, but her strategy of monstering her colleagues in one direction while ignoring other options is clearly still on track.

The Prime Minister is herding MPs in that direction - towards that all or nothing decision on Brexit - by pitting the only two options she allows squarely against each other.

She is using the Brexit deadline and fears of no-deal chaos and damage to the economy to propel MPs towards her unloved compromise divorce pact with the European Union.

Who will blink first: May or MPs? Which Brexit option will win? And is it at all necessary?

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29. MPs will now vote on May's deal during the week of January 14.

The Christmas break complicates matters, but there was still time to hold a vote this week to test the deal's popularity in the House of Commons.

May delayed the vote initially from last week because she didn't have the numbers. Had she gone through with a vote and had it been voted down, May would have been in danger of losing control.

MPs could have then steered the process and considered a softer Brexit, a second referendum or no Brexit at all. May could have tottered and fallen. She survived a party leadership vote but losing the Brexit vote would have been another matter. The opposition Labour Party could have tabled a motion of no-confidence in the Government.

Labour has now tabled a motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister instead. The Government is not obliged to schedule it before Christmas and even if successful it would not bring down the Government.

May, who is operating from the position of heading a minority government, is perhaps encouraged by the weakness of Labour which lacks a clearly defined platform on Brexit against the Government. Despite the months of chaos, the Conservative Party is still ahead in the opinion polls.

The European Court of Justice has given Britain the opportunity to just call the divorce off, with no need to seek approval from Brussels. But, politically, there needs to be some mandate to do so. Polls show a shift towards remain this year - a second referendum would be the right way to test whether exit regret has settled in.

Is it such a great idea to be a lone wolf and walk out of a rich, large trading pack, giving away power and influence while you do so? Maybe not.

A parliamentary vote now would have given May the chance to pivot towards a second referendum should her deal be defeated and extend the divorce deadline to allow it.

Instead she is sticking to her artificially narrow options, risking a dangerous no-deal Brexit in the process.

There is no way of knowing whether a parliamentary vote on May's deal in mid-January has any chance of success and the Prime Minister has doomed the country to peak uncertainty. The remaining EU members do not want to budge on the negotiated deal. It just gives much less time to safer options.

The real choice is between jumping off the EU cliff or staying put.