Theresa May to formally resign, act as PM until new leader elected

Prime Minister Theresa May will formally resign as the leader of the UK's ruling Conservative Party on Friday, paving the way for a keen contest to decide a new British premier who will take charge of the Brexit negotiations.

May, who had stepped down amid mounting pressure over her repeatedly defeated Brexit deal, will continue as acting prime minister until the party has elected her successor, who will then take charge as the premier.

The formal Tory voting process will be triggered on Monday morning, with a new leader expected to be in place by next month.

"It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit," May said in her emotional speech on the steps of Downing Street on May 23.

"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. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise," she said, indicating the tough road ahead for any new leader who steps into her shoes now.

May, who has been Prime Minister for nearly three years since she took over from David Cameron in the wake of the June 2016 Brexit referendum, will formally resign in a letter to the 1922 Committee of Tory Backbench MPs.

It will be business as usual for her for some weeks while the influential Committee goes through the leadership contest.

There are so far 11 hopefuls, including frontrunner Boris Johnson with other key contenders being seen as UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and UK environment secretary Michael Gove.

The leadership candidates need eight MPs to back them. Conservative Party MPs will then vote for their preferred candidates in a series of secret ballots held on June 13, 18, 19 and 20.

Charles Walker of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, which sets the rules of the contest, said: "We are aiming to have two people by Thursday 20 June."