Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said there was "no time to waste" in providing businesses with "clarity".

He said business communities would be hoping that these "political games can finally be put to bed".

"We are just over 100 days to go until the UK leaves the EU, and firms are still in the dark as to what trading conditions they will face," he added.

Ben Wright
BBC political correspondent

For months Theresa May has governed in the shadow of a threat from her own disgruntled backbenchers.

A group of Brexiteers increasingly angry about the compromises Mrs May was making in her talks with the EU.

Today those MPs finally took aim at the prime minister and missed.

But the rebellion they mustered was larger than many expected and the division within the parliamentary Tory party is deep.

There cannot be another confidence vote for a year so Mrs May is clearly strengthened at the end of this.

The leadership question is closed - for now.

But in order to shore up her support Mrs May took the crucial decision to time-limit her premiership, telling Tory MPs she will not lead the party into the 2022 general election.

What that means in practice will need clarity soon and Mrs May runs the risk of watching her political authority drain away as potential successors begin to jockey.

But in the short term the Brexit crisis will eclipse anything else.

The remorselessly ticking clock, a departure date in the diary, an EU opposed to further substantial negotiation and no evidence the withdrawal deal as it stands can get through Parliament.

The fundamentals of the prime minister's problems have not changed.

Some reaction from the Democratic Unionists, which prop up the Conservative government in Westminster.

Deputy leader Nigel Dodds says it is up to the Conservatives who leads the Tories but the result does not change the parliamentary arithmetic and the likelihood that the current Brexit agreement will not get through Parliament without substantive changes to the Northern Irish backstop.

He says the PM has made commitments to his party on this and she "knows what needs to be done" but adds that the noises from EU leaders are not promising.

The DUP would not, he adds, support a vote of no confidence in Parliament as it stands but he suggests should the current Brexit agreement be approved in its current form, that position could change.

The Scottish secretary welcomes the PM's victory in a confidence vote despite 117 of her MPs voting against her.

One of Theresa May's opponents, Mark Francois, says the result is a "sobering" one for the PM and her cabinet.

He says that expectations that only 60 to 80 MPs would vote against her had "been blown out of the water".

Asked if Mrs May should now consider her position, he suggested she should "sleep on it" but that to have more than a third of Tory MPs wanting her out was "devastating" for the prime minister.

"It is an extremely difficult position for the PM to find herself in."

Nick Eardley
BBC Scotland Westminster correspondent

Earlier this evening the prime minister was urging a packed Committee Room 14 to stick with her.

At 21:00 BST, MPs and dozens of lobby journalists were back to find out the result.

After weeks of rumours about the PM’s future - it was over quickly.

But outside in a frantic committee corridor Theresa May’s critics made clear the margin of defeat means they aren’t going away.

This doesn’t solve anything, one told me.

A sobering result mused one, urging cabinet ministers to now tell the PM if they don’t back her.

A few metres away, the PM’s allies said the result was clear and put the issue to bed.

But that alone shows this party is far from united.

Mrs May said she'd had a "long and challenging day" but at the end of it she was pleased to have received the backing of her colleagues in tonight's ballot.

"While I'm grateful for that support a significant number of my colleagues did cast a vote against me. I've listened to what they have said," she added.

"Following this ballot we now need to get on with the job of delivering Brexit for the British people and building a better future for this country."

The prime minister concludes her short statement by speaking of a "renewed mission", saying it is the responsibility of Conservative MPs to help "bring the country back together and build a country that truly works for everyone".

Image source, Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Theresa May is speaking outside Downing Street.

She said a "significant number of colleagues did cast a vote against me", but insisted "we need to get on with the job of delivering a Brexit that delivers on the vote".

She said politicians on all sides needed to come together and act in the national interest.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: "Having seen the Conservative backbenches will not support her deal, the prime minister must change course.

"Her deal is doomed to defeat in the Commons, so she should show real leadership by putting this question back to the public in a People's Vote," he said.

"The EU is clear that there is no more negotiating to do, so it's this deal or no Brexit.

"That is the choice on which every voter should now have a final say - and Liberal Democrats will campaign vigorously for the UK to remain a full member of the EU."

Former cabinet minister Damian Green said he hoped his party would "move on and get on with the job in hand" of negotiating a Brexit deal after the "positive" result.

"We've all thought this was coming," he said.

"We've all been threatening this vote of no confidence for a long time, and she's now won it decisively and the rules are that nobody can come back for a year, so actually we can now look forward to a period of stability during which I hope we can achieve a deal."