(Bloomberg) -- Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg indicated he’s willing to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal, in what could prove a game-changer for the prime minister. The race is now on between May and pro-EU members of Parliament who are trying to take control of the process, potentially forcing a softer Brexit and a long delay.

Key Developments:

  • Parliament will vote on alternatives to May’s Brexit deal Wednesday after government suffers defeat last night
  • Focus on Conservative MP Oliver Letwin, who will lead cross-party process to decide which options will be up for debate
  • Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg says May’s deal “better than not leaving at all” if it comes down to that choice
  • Pound rose

Rees-Mogg: May’s Deal ‘Better Than Not Leaving’ (10:15 a.m.)

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the pro-Brexit European Research Group caucus, indicated he’d be willing to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal if it came down to a choice between doing that and not leaving the European Union.

“I’ve always thought that no deal is better than Mrs. May’s deal, but that Mrs. May’s deal is better than not leaving at all,” Rees-Mogg said on the Moggcast podcast, which was recorded on Monday -- before Parliament voted to take control of the Brexit process -- and released on Tuesday.

“I’m concerned that her deal is in no way a good deal,” he said. “Against that there are the threats of a long delay, and many people in Parliament who want to frustrate the result of the referendum. So we are in a very difficult political situation.”

Earlier:

May Loses Control of Brexit Process as Parliament Takes OverBrexit Panic Leads to Desperate Measures in Some U.K. HouseholdsBrexit Bulletin: ‘Not Wild Unicorns’

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.