It’s crunch time for Theresa May and the papers have been setting out their stalls ahead of the big vote this evening. Unsurprisingly, it’s the new Mail which comes out most strongly in favour of May’s deal, with a full front-page editorial imploring MPs to “put your country first” by holding their noses and voting for the deal. The days of “Enemies of the People” and “Crush the Saboteurs” seem like distant memories…

In another sign just how much the media landscape has changed, the Express are also plumping for May’s deal, albeit not quite so overtly. The front pages declares “Don’t Lose Our Trust Forever” while the editorial is hoping for “hard-nosed pragmatism” to win the day, even as they “urge the EU to come forward even at this late hour with the sort of reassurances about the Irish backstop that could swing the vote in May’s favour.” There is increasing speculation elsewhere that the EU is prepared to do this, but not until after this first defeat tonight…

The Sun sits almost exactly on the other side of that divide, urging MPs to reject the deal for the moment and hold out for legally binding changes to the deal, concluding that “Mrs May needs more than a promise. Maybe it will come after her defeat.”  Although it wasn’t deemed quite important enough to push Prince Harry’s meditation habits off the front page…

Meanwhile it’s the resurgent Telegraph that comes out most strongly against the deal, with a robust editorial declaring “MPs must reject this dreadful deal” and an ominous front page splash reporting that Cabinet Ministers have told May she has to quit if she suffers a crippling defeat underneath the headline “Out of allies, out of time”. Ouch…

The Mirror comes out with a rogue choice and backs the Norway model instead, although its readers may not be entirely convinced by its attempts to gloss over the free movement issue. The rest of the papers don’t nail their colours to the mast, instead making vague predictions about the various forms of chaos which will follow the vote. Nothing we didn’t know already…