Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race for prime minister on Monday morning, leaving Home Secretary Theresa May as the only candidate left standing.
Current Prime Minister David Cameron said he will leave on Wednesday since there is no need for an election. The Conservative Party officially named May as his successor:
“Obviously, with these changes, we now don’t need to have a prolonged period of transition. And so tomorrow I will chair my last cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for prime minister’s questions. And then after that I expect to go to the palace and offer my resignation. So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening,” Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street on Monday.
Leadsom made her announcement early Monday morning. She said:
“We now need a new Prime Minister in place as soon as possible. Theresa May carries over 60% of support of the parliamentary party. She is ideally placed to implement Brexit for the British people and she has promised … to do so.”
In the final vote, she gathered 84 votes while May took 199. She continued:
“After careful consideration I do not believe this is sufficient to lead a strong and stable government.“I have … concluded that the interests of our county are best served by he immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister. I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish Theresa May … success.”
Leadsom came under fire over the weekend when she said would make a better prime minister than May because she has children:
In her interview Mrs Leadsom conceded that the subject of Mrs May’s lack of children could be painful for her opponent, but pressed on. “I am sure Theresa will be really sad she doesn’t have children so I don’t want this to be ‘Andrea has children, Theresa hasn’t’, because I think that would be really horrible.”However, she said that having children kept her focused. “It means you don’t want a downturn but, never mind, ten years hence it will all be fine. My children will be starting their lives in that next ten years so I have a real stake in the next year, the next two.”
She said these remarks even though May has said she and her husband could not have children “and she hinted of their sadness in a recent interview.”
Senior Tory members immediately condemned Leadsom’s comments:
Guto Bebb, a Tory MP, said: “I support Theresa May but these comments from Andrea Leadsom are utterly vile regardless of my position. Shameful.”Meanwhile Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, tweeted: “No matter what trouble my party is in, this is disgusting. Leadsom should not be our prime minister.”
But once the paper published the interview, Leadsom shot back on Twitter, saying The London Times misquoted her.
She reached out to May and apologized, who accepted the apology.
Leadsom backed the Brexit campaign while May campaigned to remain in the European Union with current Prime Minister David Cameron. The Tories would have voted for the new prime minister in September.
Other Tories have pushed to make May prime minister right now:
“We should now move as quickly as possible to ensure Theresa May can take over as leader. She has my full support as our next prime minister,” said [Michael Gove] the justice secretary in a statement.Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, said he had “no doubt Theresa [May] will make an excellent party leader and prime minister” and called for the handover of power to begin “immediately”.
Even though she wanted to remain in the EU, May has promised to honor the Brexit referendum:
May, who actually supported Britain remaining in the EU, reiterated her commitment to Brexit on Monday.”Brexit means Brexit, and we’re going to make a success of it. There will be no attempts to remain inside the EU. No attempts to rejoin it by the back door. No second referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union, and as prime minister, I will make sure we leave the European Union,” she said.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY