British PM Theresa May faces vote test in parliament over government plan

British Prime Minister Theresa May's government faces a vote of confidence on Thursday, when her legislative plan goes to a vote in parliament amid bids by opponents to peel off her supporters with an array of amendments.

Members of the House of Commons will vote on the Conservative leader's legislative plans, known as the Queen's Speech.

May's botched gamble on a 8 June snap election lost her Conservative Party its majority in parliament, leading her to strike a deal on Monday with a small Northern Irish party to ensure she has enough votes to pass legislation in parliament.

May has a working majority of 13 in the 650-seat parliament with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and won a vote on Wednesday by 323 votes to 309.

The majority of the bills in the Queen's Speech concern Britain's departure from the European Union, on which the first formal negotiations took place last week.

But May's Brexit plan is under scrutiny as many saw the election as a rebuke to her move to pull Britain out of Europe's single market - its largest trading market - to prioritise cutting EU immigration.

May's government is also dealing with the fall-out of a string of terror attacks and the blaze at the Grenfell Tower block in London, which left at least 80 people presumed dead and saw the premier accused of being out of touch with the public mood by not acting quickly enough.

The opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn has proposed amendments which could test the discipline of May's supporters. The amendments include calling for environmental protection measures ahead of Britain's exit from the European Union and the abandonment of a so-called "hard Brexit" to ensure continued membership of the single market.

Other demands include ending public spending cuts and the provision of free abortions in the national health service for Northern Irish women travelling to England.

The debate on May's legislative agenda, known as the Queen's Speech, begins around 11:00am and will go on for the rest of the day.