Theresa May is to set to come to Scotland as part of a planned grand tour of the UK to sell her Brexit plan directly to voters.

The strategy appears designed to go over the heads of MPs to appeal to their constituents, particularly in Conservative seats as already nearly 90 Tory MPs have publicly made clear they could not vote for the PM's Brexit plan as it currently stands; Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, has said it is "inevitable" that it will be defeated.

The development came as the Prime Minister faced a "gongs for votes" row at Westminster after No 10 announced a knighthood had been bestowed on Brexiteer Tory John Hayes. The former Transport Minister has urged Mrs May to look again at her proposed deal with Brussels, warning he could not accept it because of the Irish backstop plan.

Chris Matheson, the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, said: "It would be a spectacular act of desperation for Theresa May to be giving away knighthoods in a bid to win votes for her botched Brexit deal.”

His Labour colleague Jo Stevens, on behalf of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, declared: "This stinks of cronyism. It seems in order to pass its unpopular Brexit deal, the Government is willing to hand out knighthoods left, right and centre.

“Instead of sneaking out rewards for loyalty on a Friday, the Government ought to come clean with the public and tell them that Brexit will leave us poorer and more isolated on the world stage. Then the public can decide whether they want to continue with this shambles, or stay and lead in Europe,” added the Cardiff MP.

As the PM today prepares to travel to Brussels for more talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, ahead of Sunday’s expected sign-off of the proposed Brexit deal, she made clear that she would be travelling “up and down the country” to convince voters of the merits of her Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

In an interview with the BBC, Mrs May insisted the proposed agreement with the EU27 was a “really good deal for the UK,” explaining: “It delivers what the people voted for: it brings an end to free movement, sending vast annual sums of money to the EU and the European Court having jurisdiction here in the UK. It delivers what people voted for and protects jobs; that’s what people are looking for from the Government.”

The PM said now was the time for the country to “come together” behind her Brexit plan and that her job was to persuade MPs that it was the right one before they had their meaningful vote, which is expected to take place around December 10 ahead of the next European Council on December 13.

Noting how her proposed deal would help protect people’s jobs and livelihoods, she explained how “my job is to persuade people”. Mrs May said: “When I say I’m going to be focused over the next few weeks until the meaningful vote in Parliament at getting that vote through, I’m going to be doing other things too; I’m going to be around the country, explaining the deal to people up and down the country because this is important.

“This is not just about MPs at Westminster looking at the deal, it’s about the people across the country, understanding what the deal is about; so that’s my focus.”

Last night, Jeremy Hunt emphasised the need for his colleagues in the Commons to listen to ordinary voters, warning there would be "constitutional deadlock" if the proposed Brexit deal was rejected by the UK Parliament.

“We would be in a situation where the UK Government has negotiated a deal which Parliament has not been able to agree with at that stage. There would be huge amount of worry by many people who just want the Government to get on and deliver Brexit.

"We have to remember what our voters think as we make this decision about what's going to happen when that crucial vote happens."

Answering questions on Facebook, the Foreign Secretary described the Brexit plan as a "staging post" to a new relationship with the EU, which suggests it could be changed in future.

In her BBC interview, Mrs May was asked repeatedly what her Plan B was if Parliament voted it down but failed to give a direct answer, stressing: “The focus is getting the deal through.”

One caller asked her why she was ignoring the view of Scotland given it voted in large part to stay in the EU, to which the PM replied that different parts of the country voted in different ways. “But we joined the EU as the United Kingdom and we will leave the EU as the United Kingdom. That’s why it was right to take the view that came across the whole of the country and that overall view was to leave the EU.”

Asked repeatedly if she would resign if she failed to get her deal through Parliament, Mrs May replied: “No. I'm focusing on ensuring that we get this deal through Parliament. This is absolutely the right deal for the UK…This is not about me…I’m not thinking about me, I’m thinking about getting a deal through that delivers for the people of this country. That’s what drives me and is at the forefront of my mind.”

Quizzed about whether or not her proposed deal would be better than the UK’s current membership of the EU, the PM talked around the question until she said: “We will be better off in a situation outside the EU where we have control of all of those things and are able to trade around the rest of the world.”

Pressed again, Mrs May explained: “It’s a different sort of environment and a different approach to things. What will make us better off is not so much about whether we are in the EU or not but about what we can do for our economy and prosperity…Our future is our own hands, that’s what’s important.”

In her Q&A, the PM was asked, given her present predicament, would David Cameron be getting a Christmas card this year? “Yes, he will be.” And ardent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg? “All my Conservative colleagues, I send Christmas cards to,” she added.