Theresa May said she would quit as British prime minister once her Conservative Party chooses a successor, potentially paving the way for a new leader who would put a no-deal departure from the European Union back on the agenda.
The prospect of leaving with EU without an agreement to ease economic disruption faded earlier this year, as lawmakers made plain their opposition to a so-called no-deal Brexit. But a new prime minister, using the office’s power to drive Parliament’s agenda, could try to override their wishes and pull the U.K. out without a deal, an outcome that alarms many business leaders.
Mrs. May announced on Friday her intention to leave office after failing repeatedly to win parliamentary backing for the Brexit divorce agreement she negotiated with the bloc.
With little prospect of getting her deal passed three years after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, Mrs. May said the race to find her replacement would formally begin after she quits as head of her Conservative party on June 7. That will take several weeks, and a new prime minister is likely to take over in July.
“It is now clear to me that it is in the best interest of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort” to complete Brexit, she said during a statement on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Mrs. May, her voice breaking, spoke of her sadness at no longer serving as prime minister and urged lawmakers to compromise over Brexit.
Several of those at the front of the pack to succeed her, including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, advocate a more abrupt split with the EU than the one Mrs. May hoped to secure, without a deal if necessary. Mr. Johnson has one attribute that Mrs. May crucially lacked: many party loyalists say they see him as a vote winner.
“To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not,” Mrs. May said of the next leader.
