 "Theresa May takes over as UK prime minister")
Theresa May replaced David Cameron as Britain's prime minister on Wednesday. May assumed office after an audience with Queen Elizabeth. An official photograph showed her curtseying and shaking hands with the smiling monarch, for whom she is the 13th prime minister in a line that started with Winston Churchill.
Earlier, outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron urged his successor Theresa May on Wednesday to keep Britain close to the European Union (EU), even as she embarks on the monumental task of ending four decades of membership.
Cameron is stepping down after Britons rejected his entreaties and voted to leave the EU in a referendum last month, severely undermining European efforts to forge greater unity and creating economic uncertainty across the 28-nation bloc. "My advice to my successor, who is a brilliant negotiator, is that we should try to be as close to the European Union as we can be for the benefits of trade, cooperation and security," he told parliament in his last appearance before resigning.
After taking over the office, May's most-watched act as UK prime minister will be naming a Brexit czar. Extricating the UK from the EU will require finesse and force, and whoever gets the job will need to be unswervingly loyal to the new leader and also have been a backer of the "Leave" campaign. The formation of a new Brexit department with a secretary of state at its helm will be one of May's first announcements, her office said late Tuesday.
"It will require somebody that has an ability to hold lots of information, who can be on point, somebody who's got a quick mind, an iron will, a certain charm when they're negotiating," Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, told reporters in Westminster. "And somebody who enjoys the full, utter and complete trust of the next prime minister."
Finding the right person to manage Britain's difficult divorce from the 28-nation bloc while calming volatile markets and a still-stunned electorate is 59-year-old May's most important task. The decision to call the EU referendum cost her predecessor, David Cameron, his job.
The appointment of a Brexit chief narrows the pool of candidates left for chancellor of the exchequer, Britain's finance chief. While bookmakers' favourite for that job is Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond -who made a speech to bankers last night - The Times of London reported Wednesday that Energy Secretary Amber Rudd was the most likely choice.
May had promised that whoever she picks for the Brexit post will have been a bona fide supporter of leaving, which rules out candidates such as Business Secretary Sajid Javid and the current chancellor, George Osborne. One of the hardest parts of the job will be selling whatever deal is reached to those within the Conservative Party who, unlike May, campaigned for the UK to leave.
Brexiteers had told voters they would be able to stop the free movement of EU citizens into Britain, while also keeping access to the EU's single market, an incompatible proposition that May also said is her priority. Having a Brexit backer in charge of talks may help May deflect blame if she fails to deliver on those two fronts.
Fellow EU leaders have said they want talks to begin quickly, and for the UK to set out its demands. May on the other hand is in no hurry, and has said what she wants: market access without immigration. Slowing things down without upsetting negotiating partners will come under the purview of the Brexit minister.
Before she can get to work, May has to wait for David Cameron to formally end his six-year term. He will face questions in the House of Commons for the last time as premier at noon before travelling to Buckingham Palace during the afternoon to inform Queen Elizabeth II of his resignation. The Queen will then ask May to form a government.
That is when May will start to announce a handful of senior posts, from Wednesday evening through to the rest of Thursday. More junior jobs can wait until Friday. May will seek to strike a balance between pro and anti-EU personnel and is expected to put women in key roles.
Along with Rudd, International Development Secretary Justine Greening was tipped for a senior job in Wednesday's newspapers, including the Times, Guardian and Daily Mail. Employment minister Priti Patel, who was a leading advocate for the Brexit campaign, may also be promoted, the Mail said.
"It was Theresa that set up the campaign to elect more female MPs to parliament - and she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions," her office said in an e-mail late Tuesday.
Among those considered are high-profile Brexiteers, though they all come with baggage. Andrea Leadsom, the junior minister who dropped out of the Tory leadership race, has the Euroskeptic credentials but might not enjoy May's confidence after a detail-light campaign against her that collapsed within a week of its launch.
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson was too disorganized to mount his own leadership bid, suggesting he would struggle with complex international diplomacy. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who torpedoed Johnson's ambitions and clashed with May when she was at the Home Office, might be deemed too Machiavellian to be trusted.
Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox and former home affairs spokesman, David Davis, might make the cut as prominent supporters who can please the Conservative Party's rank-and-file. But the Brexit backer who has May's full confidence is her campaign manager, Chris Grayling.
In the meantime, the search is on for a building to house all the new employees, May's office said. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said recruitment is underway to staff it.
"The government is creating a new EU unit which will bring together the brightest and the best from Whitehall and the private sector, including lawyers, financial experts and trade experts," Hammond told Parliament. "In the circumstances in which we find ourselves, facing the opportunities which we do now, recruitment of trade specialists whatever that costs us is likely to be an investment very well worth making."
May knows that as the negotiations move forward every twist and turn will be picked apart by all sides. The UK Independence Party, for one, will be waiting to pounce on voters who feel they are being sold short.
"There is a real danger for the government going forward that no matter what it is that they negotiate, there could be some form of betrayal narrative," Davidson said.
THE WOMAN IN PM'S SHOES
Theresa May has taken over as the British prime minister on Wednesday and formed form a government, which has a monumental tasks of extricating Britain from the European Union and uniting a fractured nation. May, who is known for her love of shoes, is seen by her supporters as a safe pair of hands to steer the country through the disruptive Brexit process. Here is a brief profile of Britain's second woman PM:
Earlier, outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron urged his successor Theresa May on Wednesday to keep Britain close to the European Union (EU), even as she embarks on the monumental task of ending four decades of membership.
Cameron is stepping down after Britons rejected his entreaties and voted to leave the EU in a referendum last month, severely undermining European efforts to forge greater unity and creating economic uncertainty across the 28-nation bloc. "My advice to my successor, who is a brilliant negotiator, is that we should try to be as close to the European Union as we can be for the benefits of trade, cooperation and security," he told parliament in his last appearance before resigning.
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"The channel will not get any wider once we leave the European Union, and that is the relationship we should seek." May, must try to limit the damage to British trade and investment, as she renegotiates the country's ties with its 27 EU partners. She must also attempt to unite a divided ruling Conservative Party and a fractured nation in which many, on the evidence of the vote, feel angry with the political elite and left behind by the forces of globalisation.
After taking over the office, May's most-watched act as UK prime minister will be naming a Brexit czar. Extricating the UK from the EU will require finesse and force, and whoever gets the job will need to be unswervingly loyal to the new leader and also have been a backer of the "Leave" campaign. The formation of a new Brexit department with a secretary of state at its helm will be one of May's first announcements, her office said late Tuesday.
"It will require somebody that has an ability to hold lots of information, who can be on point, somebody who's got a quick mind, an iron will, a certain charm when they're negotiating," Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, told reporters in Westminster. "And somebody who enjoys the full, utter and complete trust of the next prime minister."
Finding the right person to manage Britain's difficult divorce from the 28-nation bloc while calming volatile markets and a still-stunned electorate is 59-year-old May's most important task. The decision to call the EU referendum cost her predecessor, David Cameron, his job.
The appointment of a Brexit chief narrows the pool of candidates left for chancellor of the exchequer, Britain's finance chief. While bookmakers' favourite for that job is Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond -who made a speech to bankers last night - The Times of London reported Wednesday that Energy Secretary Amber Rudd was the most likely choice.
May had promised that whoever she picks for the Brexit post will have been a bona fide supporter of leaving, which rules out candidates such as Business Secretary Sajid Javid and the current chancellor, George Osborne. One of the hardest parts of the job will be selling whatever deal is reached to those within the Conservative Party who, unlike May, campaigned for the UK to leave.
Brexiteers had told voters they would be able to stop the free movement of EU citizens into Britain, while also keeping access to the EU's single market, an incompatible proposition that May also said is her priority. Having a Brexit backer in charge of talks may help May deflect blame if she fails to deliver on those two fronts.
Fellow EU leaders have said they want talks to begin quickly, and for the UK to set out its demands. May on the other hand is in no hurry, and has said what she wants: market access without immigration. Slowing things down without upsetting negotiating partners will come under the purview of the Brexit minister.
Before she can get to work, May has to wait for David Cameron to formally end his six-year term. He will face questions in the House of Commons for the last time as premier at noon before travelling to Buckingham Palace during the afternoon to inform Queen Elizabeth II of his resignation. The Queen will then ask May to form a government.
That is when May will start to announce a handful of senior posts, from Wednesday evening through to the rest of Thursday. More junior jobs can wait until Friday. May will seek to strike a balance between pro and anti-EU personnel and is expected to put women in key roles.
Along with Rudd, International Development Secretary Justine Greening was tipped for a senior job in Wednesday's newspapers, including the Times, Guardian and Daily Mail. Employment minister Priti Patel, who was a leading advocate for the Brexit campaign, may also be promoted, the Mail said.
"It was Theresa that set up the campaign to elect more female MPs to parliament - and she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions," her office said in an e-mail late Tuesday.
Among those considered are high-profile Brexiteers, though they all come with baggage. Andrea Leadsom, the junior minister who dropped out of the Tory leadership race, has the Euroskeptic credentials but might not enjoy May's confidence after a detail-light campaign against her that collapsed within a week of its launch.
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson was too disorganized to mount his own leadership bid, suggesting he would struggle with complex international diplomacy. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who torpedoed Johnson's ambitions and clashed with May when she was at the Home Office, might be deemed too Machiavellian to be trusted.
Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox and former home affairs spokesman, David Davis, might make the cut as prominent supporters who can please the Conservative Party's rank-and-file. But the Brexit backer who has May's full confidence is her campaign manager, Chris Grayling.
In the meantime, the search is on for a building to house all the new employees, May's office said. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said recruitment is underway to staff it.
"The government is creating a new EU unit which will bring together the brightest and the best from Whitehall and the private sector, including lawyers, financial experts and trade experts," Hammond told Parliament. "In the circumstances in which we find ourselves, facing the opportunities which we do now, recruitment of trade specialists whatever that costs us is likely to be an investment very well worth making."
May knows that as the negotiations move forward every twist and turn will be picked apart by all sides. The UK Independence Party, for one, will be waiting to pounce on voters who feel they are being sold short.
"There is a real danger for the government going forward that no matter what it is that they negotiate, there could be some form of betrayal narrative," Davidson said.
THE WOMAN IN PM'S SHOES
Theresa May has taken over as the British prime minister on Wednesday and formed form a government, which has a monumental tasks of extricating Britain from the European Union and uniting a fractured nation. May, who is known for her love of shoes, is seen by her supporters as a safe pair of hands to steer the country through the disruptive Brexit process. Here is a brief profile of Britain's second woman PM:
- 1956: Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, to a Church of England vicar; studied Geography at St Hugh's College, Oxford University
- 1977-1983: Worked at the Bank of England
- 1985-1997: Worked at the Association for Payment Clearing Services
- 1980: Marries Philip May, an investment banker
- 1986-1994: Councillor in the London Borough of Merton
- 1988-1990: Chairman of education
- 1992-1994: Deputy group leader and housing spokesman
- 1997: Elected Member of Parliament from Maidenhead
- 1999-2010: Member of the Shadow Cabinet
- 2002-2003: First woman chairman of the Conservative Party
- 2010: Appointed home secretary
- 2010-2012: Minister for women & equalities