Under intense pressure from her own party members, Theresa May announced that she will step down as the leader of Conservative party on 7 June, ending her three-year tenure as the prime minister. She said that it was a honour to serve as Britain’s second female prime minister and said that she would leave with no ill will, but with enduring gratitude.
She listed her government’s achievements, including tackling the deficit, reducing unemployment and boosting funding for mental health. But she said, “it is and will alway remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.” She made the announcement after meeting Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee – which was preparing a second no-confidence vote against her if she did not resign.
Her fate was sealed after a 10-point “new Brexit deal” was announced which infuriated Tory backbenchers and many of her own cabinet. The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, resigned, rather than present the Brexit bill to parliament. A string of other cabinet ministers had also expressed concerns. They rejected May’s promise to give MPs a vote on a second referendum as the Brexit bill passed through parliament, and implement the result – which they felt came too close to endorsing the idea.
Front-runners
The former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the front-runner to step into May's shoe; but more than a dozen senior Tory figures are considering throwing their hats into the ring. In the cabinet, Rory Stewart has already said he would stand, while Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt and Sajid Javid are all likely contenders.
May’s departure came after three years of wrangling with Brexiters on her own backbenches about what future relationship with the European Union they would be prepared to accept.
