Theresa May announces resignation amid Brexit chaos – By Al Jazeera Staff (Al Jazeera) / May 24 2019
May will step down as UK Conservative leader on June 7 after weeks of deadlock and chaos surrounding Brexit.
Theresa May has announced her resignation as Britain’s prime minister after weeks of deadlock and chaos surrounding several failed attempts to push her EU Withdrawal Agreement through parliament.
On Friday morning, May announched she will step down as UK Conservative leader on June 7. She will stay on as prime minister until her successor is chosen, May added.
The move came after a meeting with the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of her Conservative party backbenchers.
“I have done my best to implement the result of the referendum,” she said outside 10 Downing Street, which has been her home since shortly after Britain voted by a narrow margin to leave the European Union.
“I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back my deal,” May added. She said she would continue to serve as prime minister until a new leader is selected.
“It is a matter of deep regret that I have not delivered Brexit. My successor must find consensus in parliament.”
The race to replace her began a few weeks ago, with at least three leading Conservative figures declaring their candidacy for the leadership.
But whoever replaces her will face the same parliamentary arithmetic which denied May an outright majority and a public greatly dissatisfied both with the delivery of Brexit and the state of the nation’s leadership more generally.
“I know the Conservative party can renew itself in the years ahead,” said May.
Discontent had been rife within the Conservative party, growing to unsustainable levels this week, with several key government and backbench figures calling for her ousting.
May’s days were numbered after concessions made to opposition politicians over her Brexit deal failed to win support among opponents, and left her own allies feeling betrayed.
Andrea Leadsom, a key ally in May’s Cabinet, resigned on Wednesday night, and several senior figures were said to have had “frank” discussions with her on Thursday.
May concluded her speech with a litany of claims of her government’s achievements, before issuing a rallying call to future women leaders:
“[I was] the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. It has been the honour of my life to serve the country that I love.”
