Had the government lost, Britain would have faced an election within weeks The House of Commons expressed confidence in the government by 325 votes to 306 LONDON: Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May continues her epic struggle to deliver Brexit after winning a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday. The latest political drama came a day after her Brexit deal with the EU was overwhelmingly rejected by parliament and one month after she survived a bruising party no-confidence vote. She has largely been protected by the inability of any serious challengers to form alliances and depose her, with the toxic Brexit issue dissolving traditional political bonds. May made it her mission to carry out the wishes of voters who backed the Brexit referendum in June 2016 when she became premier the following month. But Leave backers have always been suspicious of having a Remain supporter -- which May was before the referendum -- leading negotiations. And MPs who opposed Brexit want her to stick tighter to the EU or call for a second referendum that could potentially nullify the first one"s result. Shortly before Christmas, she was forced to acknowledge the weakness of her position, telling Conservative colleagues she did not intend to lead them into the next scheduled election in 2022 as she uncomfortably defeated the internal coup. It was a rare concession by a prime minister praised by her supporters as resilient but accused by critics of ploughing on oblivious to the changing circumstances around her. The party challenge came shortly after she had to tell the House of Commons that the vote on her deal was being postponed as the scale of potential defeat became clear. Critics from all sides rounded on the leader on Wednesday, with Remain supporting journalist Matthew Parris calling her a "zombie prime minister", and the Leave supporting Daily Telegraph newspaper warning that she was "out of allies, out of time".