British Prime Minister Theresa May To Resign Amid Brexit Uncertainty
The United Kingdom’s prime minister announced she would step down as party leader by June 7, bringing an end to a turbulent three-year premiership plagued by Brexit uncertainty.
During a press statement at Downing Street, London, on Friday morning, Theresa May said she would quit as Conservative leader after she failed to deliver a strong Brexit plan. According to the BBC, she said she had done her best to execute the people’s will following the European Union referendum in 2016, and that she deeply regretted being unable to negotiate a Brexit deal with the E.U. that pleased representatives in the House of Commons.
May will continue to serve as prime minister while a Tory leadership contest takes place next week, but she will officially step down on June 7. After three years of struggling with pressure from her own party, she decided to resign after a meeting with Graham Brady, who is the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, and who threatened her with calling a second no-confidence vote in her leadership if she didn’t quit her role as P.M., as reported by The Guardian.
Her resignation was predictable after she presented a 10-point “new Brexit deal” on Tuesday, which not only failed to get the support it needed from Labour MPs, but ended up upsetting many in her own cabinet — including Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons, who quit on Wednesday as a show of protest against the new Brexit bill.
The most controversial part of the proposed deal was that Theresa May promised members of Parliament the chance to vote on a second referendum if the bill passed, an idea that many British politicians have strongly opposed.
Theresa May breaks down as she announces she will stand down on June 7 in emotional announcement https://t.co/G0CZHOMoSZ pic.twitter.com/TRj1FTZ8Zq
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) May 24, 2019
May has struggled to negotiate a Brexit deal with the E.U., as all of her attempts have failed to pass in her own Parliament, with many Tory MPs demanding a no-deal Brexit at this point. Now, the race to replace her will surely surround how each candidate intends on dealing with the issue of the U.K. leaving the European Union before the stipulated October 31 deadline.
Still, some fellow Conservatives have come forward to defend the prime minister, appreciating the fact that she took on an almost-impossible role after David Cameron stepped down following the 2016 referendum.
“The fact that parliament has not been able to get a Brexit deal through has led to the impatience, bordering into contempt, for the political class and the amount of hostility and borderline violence is something we have not known for a very very long time,” former Secretary of State Damian Green said, as per The Guardian.
Tearful Theresa May resigns, paving way for #Brexit confrontation with EU https://t.co/KeAw3cmJNy via @kyliemaclellan @piperliza @WJames_Reuters pic.twitter.com/Yw6JXWP4yu
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 24, 2019
#TheresaMay may cry all the world's tears, but nothing can justify her government's absolute disastrous policies enabling war crimes in the world's largest humanitarian tragedy, Yemen.
This woman can't get away with it. She must be brought into justice.
#TheresaMayResign pic.twitter.com/nQCg1J63Br— Afrah Nasser ????? ???? (@Afrahnasser) May 24, 2019
“I think that it’s undeniable that suddenly and unexpectedly becoming prime minister after the seismic shock of the Brexit referendum meant that she was dealt an extremely difficult hand to play,” he added.
