Theresa May has announced that she is resigning as the UK prime minister after she’s failed to make progress on a Brexit deal:
AXIOS – U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she will resign as prime minister Friday, meaning a country that was already adrift amid the current Brexit crisis now has to replace its leader as well.
May had presented a last-ditch effort to get her Brexit deal across the line, offering up the possibility of a second referendum. That olive branch set off a schism within her own Cabinet, punctuated by the resignation of Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, as ministers signaled throughout the week that the prime minister’s political situation was deteriorating.
May’s resignation announcement comes just after the U.K. voted in the European elections, where her Conservative Party is expected to take a drubbing in the polls among pro-Brexit voters at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party.
The contest for who will take over the Conservatives kicks off — Boris Johnson has already declared his interest — and the winner will be tasked with taking the next steps on Brexit. May will step down as the Conservative Party leader on June 7 and remain as a caretaker prime minister throughout the party’s leadership election process, which will begin the following week.
As you know, the parliament has failed to agree on a Brexit withdrawal agreement.
The original deadline for Brexit was March 31. That was extended until May and then later extended until October 31.
Whether they can get their act together and agree on a new withdrawal agreement before then remains to be seen.
Via TRS
