British members of Parliament have shown scant support for the prime minister's plan to hold yet another vote on her proposed Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, this time in early June.

Theresa May says she wants MPs to vote on the deal for a fourth time, regardless of whether it incorporates compromises with the opposition Labour Party or remains in its original form.

The BBC said Downing Street believes a vote in early June is "imperative" if the United Kingdom is to leave the European Union before British lawmakers break for the summer holidays in mid-July, something May has set as a new deadline.

If the bill is defeated again, the broadcaster says, senior Tories believe the UK will have little choice but to either crash out of the EU without a divorce deal or remain a member of the bloc.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said: "It is now time for Parliament to make a decision … and to deliver Brexit in the way that the public were promised."

The Labour Party, though, has already said it will vote against the deal if it remains unchanged from the one that has been heavily defeated three times before.

And Nigel Dodds, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in Westminster, a minor party that props up the government, said: "The question will be, 'What has changed?'.Unless she can demonstrate something new … then it is highly likely her deal will go down to defeat once again."

Conservative MP Steve Baker said simply: "What is the government thinking?"

The Guardian newspaper said May might be hoping that, by setting a date for a Brexit showdown, she will sidestep a leadership challenge, having already said she plans to step down as prime minister and party leader after this stage of the Brexit process is over.

The June vote will follow elections for the European Parliament that the UK has been forced to participate in, despite its intention to leave the EU. The Conservative Party is predicted to perform very poorly in the EU elections and Education Secretary Damian Hinds said following them with another Brexit vote could make it a "difficult" time for the party.United States President Donald Trump will also be in the UK at the time, to attend D-day commemorations, something that is likely to ramp up the pressure.

Ahead of the vote, May and her team will continue to negotiate with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his team in search of a Brexit compromise. Corbyn has lamented a lack of progress in the talks, blaming it on the government "disintegrating".

Corbyn and May are also dealing with revolts within their parties by MPs who do not want their leaders to compromise.