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."

The final two will be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party, with a winner expected to be announced in the week of July 22.

Contenders have already been conducting their hustings as they lay out their credentials for the top job. How they plan to deal with Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) will be at the heart of all their bids, with many backing a no-deal exit as others warn against such an extreme step.

The UK was originally meant to leave the European Union on March 29. That was then pushed back to April 12 and eventually October 31 after Theresa May failed to get MPs to approve her deal. She announced her resignation, saying she had done everything she could to try to persuade MPs to support the withdrawal deal.

The deadline for nominations for a new leader is 5pm on June 10, so more names are likely to emerge by next week. The 1922 Committee will then announce the final list of candidates at 5.30pm on Monday.

The Tory party decided to change the rules of leadership election to speed things up after criticism at the number of people coming forward for the job. Previously, candidates needed just two nominations to stand, whereas now they need eight.