United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May announced through tears this morning that she will leave her post on June 7 after a Brexit mess that has lasted for three years. From The London Times:
“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” she said. “I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high.“But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort.”Watched by her husband, Philip, and her closest aides, Mrs May came close to tears as she said that it had been the “honour” of her life to serve as prime minister.“I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold — the second female prime minister but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill-will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”
May said that her successor could only succeed if he or she compromises:
“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 added: “Compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise.”
In the summer of 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. It should have gone into effect in March 2019, but parliament kept voting against its options. Despite the people wanting to leave the EU, members of parliament (MP) did their best to make sure it did not happen.
The Telegraph‘s Europe Editor published a great Twitter thread that explained why May failed. To summarize, May “failed because she never felt politically strong enough to confront her party with the reality of choices that are posed by Brexit.” but this one caught my eye:
I wrote in the past that a no deal does not propose the end of the world. While it may cause discomfort for the UK and EU at first, the UK would eventually realize it has the upper hand on the EU. I believe the EU knows this, which is why the conglomerate has also tried hard to make Brexit as painful as possible and overblow the consequences.
I also believe the snap election May demanded in 2017 was her biggest mistake. The overconfidence quickly diminished afterward since the Tories lost seats in parliament, which forced May to make a deal with the Northern Irish Party to give the conservatives a slim majority.
Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis confirmed that the party would begin the contest for the next prime minister on June 10, three days after May officially leaves her post.
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson emerged as the favorite to take over as prime minister.
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