Theresa May, the British prime minister announced on Friday, May 24, 2019, 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, 2019, which will trigger a leadership contest to replace her on June 10, 2019. But she will stay on as prime minister until her successor is selected, at which point that person will become the new prime minister.
In a statement, May said she had “done my best,” noting she felt “deep regret” that she couldn’t fulfill her Brexit promise. A new prime minister, she continued, was “in the best interests of the country.”
May said she would 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.
May has served as prime minister for nearly three years, ascending to leadership shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum and the resignation of then-Prime Minister David Cameron. When she took over, May vowed to deliver Brexit — though what that meant in practical terms ended up being far more complicated.
And it ultimately doomed her premiership.
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