Boris Time?
Theresa May has announced that she will step down as Tory leader and British Prime Minister on June 7.
In an emotional speech outside No. 10 Downing St. in London, the Prime Minister tearfully said, “I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold,” adding with pride, “the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.”
“I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love,” she said.
Mrs. May also said that she tried her best to deliver the result of the EU referendum.
“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” she said.
“It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not.”
Mrs. May will continue to fulfill her Prime Minister duties until a new leader is chosen. Tories have confirmed that by mid-July, a new leader will be proclaimed.
Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the resignation and called for an immediate General Election to ‘let the people decide our country’s future’.
Boris Johnson, the hardline Brexit supporter and leading candidate to take over Theresa May’s post, said: “A very dignified statement from Theresa May. Thank you for your stoical service to our country and the Conservative Party. It is now time to follow her urgings: to come together and deliver Brexit.”
Just hours after Theresa May’s resignation, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and senior MP Sir Graham Brady both announced they are entering the Conservative leadership contest.
They join declared candidates Boris Johnson, Esther McVey and Rory Stewart, with more than a dozen others also believed to be considering joining the race to take over as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
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