Prime Minister May was supposed to deliver Brexit for the UK. Now she’s leaving it up to somebody else.
Brexit has finally brought down Theresa May.
The British prime minister announced Friday that she plans to resign, after trying — and failing — to steer the United Kingdom through its divorce with the European Union. While this brings a close to her beleaguered premiership, it adds even more chaos to UK politics as the country tries to finalize its exit from the EU.
May will not leave office immediately. She will step aside as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7, which will trigger a leadership contest to replace her on June 10. But she will stay on as prime minister until her successor is selected, at which point that person will become the prime minister without the need for a general election.
A new prime minister was “in the best interests of the country,” May said in a statement in front of London’s 10 Downing Street. “It is and always will remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.”
After calling on ministers to compromise on Brexit issues in the weeks ahead, she concluded her address while fighting back tears. “I will shortly leave the job that has been the honor of my life to hold ... I do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”
May will step down amid intensifying pressure from Conservative members of Parliament, many of whom have been agitating for her to leave office after her failure to deliver a Brexit deal that could satisfy her party.
