HEREFORDSHIRE MP Bill Wiggin will not be supporting the Prime Minister's Brexit deal.

The representative for North Herefordshire said he "very much wanted" to back his Conservative leader but had many issues with the plan ahead of the December 11 vote in the House of Commons.

Mr Wiggin, who voted leave in the 2016 EU referendum, said he feared Theresa May's deal could leave the UK with even "less control of our own customs arrangements".

"The Withdrawal Agreement contains an enormous problem," he said.

"The Northern Ireland Protocol, known as the backstop, contains provisions for an extension to the Customs Union which would keep the United Kingdom in the Customs Union and some aspects of the Single Market of the European Union.

"Brexit, for me, was about democracy and taking back control, and this arrangement actually leaves us less in control of our own customs arrangements than we were whilst a member of the EU."

The backstop has proved to be an issue of enormous contention amongst MPs, who have raised concerns that Britain could be prevented from trading with countries outside of the EU or forced to accept trade deals on the EU's terms.

With current polls suggesting that the majority of MPs will vote against Mrs May's hard fought and controversial deal, MPs will now spend the five days before the vote debating the EU withdrawal agreement and the framework for future relations that the Government negotiated and agreed with Brussels.

In the event that the deal is not passed by the House of Commons, the PM will have a further 21 days in which to announce how the government intends to proceed with negotiations, which could include putting the motion to the House again, putting the question back to the public with a second referendum, or leaving the EU with no deal.

However, Mr Wiggin said: "Much may change before the meaningful vote on December 11.

"I do not currently support the Prime Minister's Deal, but with alterations that remove the power of the backstop, I would be happy to support it.

"Indeed, given the likely course of events after voting down the deal, it is still possible that it may be better than risking losing Brexit altogether."

A very different view is held by Ludlow MP, Phillip Dunne, who said: "The deal is not perfect, and there are elements I would have hoped to turn out differently, but I have been involved in enough negotiations to know that any deal involves compromise."

Jesse Norman, MP for South Herefordshire, has been contacted for his comments on the December 11 vote.