UK Prime Minister Theresa May announces resignation after Brexit failure
An emotional UK Prime Minister has announced her departure, but social media users have slammed the ‘Crying Lady’ over her tears.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will stand down on June 7, after pressure on her to quit reached a critical point following her Brexit failures.
The Conservative Party leader broke down in tears as she said she would make way for a successor, who will hope they have more luck negotiating a deal for the UK to leave the European Union.
“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,” an emotional Mrs May told the media outside 10 Downing Street.
“So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday the 7th of June so that a successor can be chosen.”
Her voice breaking, the 62-year-old said she would be leaving a job it had been “the honour of her life to hold”.
But social media users have been quick to question May’s tears, with some venting fury over her level of emotion compared the horror Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Observers on Twitter noted how tearful the Prime Minister was when announcing her resignation, but failed to express the same level of emotion when 72 people died in the Grenfell fire.
Theresa May crying:
— Sakhr Al-Makhadhi (@sakhr) May 24, 2019
Thank you, next. pic.twitter.com/dLRlFez3yB
“Therese May cried when she lost her job but not when 72 people burned to death in Grenfell. That’s her legacy, conversation over,” one person posted.
“Lol Theresa May queuing the tears .. where were those tears when you ruined the lives of millions, the poor the disabled .. victims of Grenfell,” another added.
May was also criticised and called “disgraceful” by local firefighters, after she spoke of Grenfell during her resignation.
During her speech, the Prime Minister cited the inquiry she launched into the Grenfell Tower fire as proof that she wanted “to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society”.
However, firefighters criticised her reference to the tragedy as she reflected on her perceived successes in her three years as prime minister.
“I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth,” she said during her resignation.
“So nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.”
THERESA MAY CRIED WHEN SHE LOST HER JOB BUT NOT WHEN 72 PEOPLE BURNED TO DEATH IN GRENFELL. THATS HER LEGACY, CONVERSATION OVER.
— Feargal Ó Murchú (@DailyHustler) May 24, 2019
Lol Theresa May queuing the tears .. where were those tears when you ruined the lives of millions, the poor the disabled .. victims of Grenfell..
— aisha. (@minhosmalab) May 24, 2019
However many said May had a “nerve” referencing Grenfell and that her speech was “disgraceful”.
“Many of the underlying issues at Grenfell were due to unsafe conditions that had been allowed to fester under Tory governments and a council for which Theresa May bears ultimate responsibility,” Fire Brigades Union general secretary, Matt Wrack, said.
“The inquiry she launched has kicked scrutiny of corporate and government interests into the long grass, denying families and survivors justice while allowing business as usual to continue for the wealthy.
“For the outgoing prime minister to suggest that her awful response to Grenfell is a proud part of her legacy is, frankly, disgraceful.”
May’s former speechwriter, Chris Wilkins, claimed today was the first time she has “displayed emotion” in public in “almost 20 years”.
“I think having known her for almost 20 years that today was probably the first time I’ve seen her display emotion in that sense,” Mr Wilkins told the BBC.
“She’s just an incredibly diligent, professional person in any scenario. She will just focus on the job in hand. I worked with her when the country suffered a number of terrorist attacks when I was in Number 10.
“And looking at the way she responded to those it was absolutely focused on the job in hand, what does she need to do, what decisions does she need to make.
“No doubt at the end of those days, which are really tough days, she would close the door in the flat in Number 11 Downing Street where she lives and maybe show some emotion then.
“But in front of people like myself, in front of civil servants, she’s just basically the consummate professional.”
May will stay on as caretaker prime minister until the new leader is chosen, a process likely to take several weeks. Tory MPs and members will have to vote on a new leader, with former foreign secretary and Brexiteer Boris Johnson the frontrunner to take the role.
Mrs May could use this time to try to pass some of the less controversial parts of her Brexit deal, and is also set to meet with Donald Trump during his state visit to Britain from June 3-5.
Her announcement came after calls for her to go grew deafening this week, with a senior cabinet member resigning and her revised bill for how the UK should leave the EU looking doomed to be rejected in parliament for a fourth time.
She met with the chairman of the party’s key backbench committee in London early on Friday morning. The 1922 Committee’s “executioner” Sir Graham Brady arranged the showdown meeting to push Mrs May to set a departure timetable, or than face a leadership challenge.
Watched by her supportive husband Philip, Mrs May admitted in her speech there was now no chance she could push her Brexit deal through parliament, but called on MPs to come together and deliver on the referendum, saying: “Life depends on compromise.”
She said she had done her best to fulfil the wishes of the people after the 2016 vote for the UK to leave the EU, and left with no ill will.
“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” she said. “If you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that.
“Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere even when the odds against success seemed high.
“I will shortly leave the job 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.”
Leadership favourite Mr Johnson praised her “dignified” speech and “stoical service”, adding: “It is now time to follow her urgings: to come together and deliver Brexit.”
A very dignified statement from @theresa_may. Thank you for your stoical service to our country and the Conservative Party. It is now time to follow her urgings: to come together and deliver Brexit.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 24, 2019
Mrs May has repeatedly failed to win the UK Parliament’s approval for a European Union divorce deal, and this week she faced a mutiny when a senior minister quit and Cabinet colleagues expressed doubts her latest bill would pass.
The humiliating spectacle of the prime minister detailing her departure date follows a toxic response to her latest Brexit plan this week from cabinet colleagues and Conservative MPs.
Mrs May previously said she would step aside once a Brexit deal had been passed by parliament, and launched a fresh bid on Tuesday for politicians to vote on a revised bill in early June. The government has now postponed that vote.
MPs have already overwhelmingly rejected her EU divorce plan, agreed with European leaders last year, three times.
Her latest proposals, which included giving them the option of choosing to hold a second referendum on Brexit to agree a deal, prompted a furious reaction among Conservatives.
Andrea Leadsom, who resigned as House of Commons Leader on Wednesday to protest May’s Brexit plan, tweeted that Mrs May’s speech was “an illustration of her total commitment to country and duty.”
The possible leadership contender said Mrs May “did her utmost” and praised her dignity.
A very dignified speech by @theresa_may. An illustration of her total commitment to country and duty. She did her utmost, and I wish her all the very best
— Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) May 24, 2019
Pressure intensified on Mrs May after Ms Leadsom — one of cabinet’s strongest Brexit backers — resigned from her post as the government’s representative in parliament on Wednesday.
In her resignation letter, Ms Leadsom told the prime minister she no longer believed her approach would deliver on the 2016 referendum result to leave the EU.
A moving speech from a Prime Minister who deserves our respect and gratitude.
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) May 24, 2019
Thank you @theresa_may
Another potential candidate, environment secretary Michael Gove, tweeted his thanks to Mrs May, praising “a moving speech from a Prime Minister who deserves our respect and gratitude.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a frequent critic of Mrs May, said she was worried the decision would bring “an even more hardline” Brexit-backer to power.
She warned the prime minister’s departure would not “solve the Brexit mess that the Tories have created”, adding: “Only putting the matter back to the people can do that.”
1. I wish Theresa May well. She and I had profound disagreements - not least on her handling of Brexit and her disregard for Scotland’s interests. However, leadership is tough - especially in these times - and she deserves thanks for her service.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 24, 2019
Many of Mrs May’s former allies had turned against her, with possible leadership candidates foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and home secretary Sajid Javid urging her to give up on her efforts to pass her Brexit legislation.
Mr Javid tweeted after her announcement that “nobody could have worked harder or had a greater sense of public duty than the Prime Minister.”
Mr Hunt called her “ a true public servant” and paid tribute to her “courage and resolve”.
Nobody could have worked harder or had a greater sense of public duty than the Prime Minister. Her dedication in taking our country forward has been monumental. She has served her country with fortitude and we are grateful to her for it.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) May 24, 2019
I want to pay tribute to the PM today. Delivering Brexit was always going to be a huge task, but one she met every day with courage & resolve. NHS will have an extra £20bn thanks to her support, and she leaves the country safer and more secure. A true public servant.
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) May 24, 2019
After months of political paralysis over Brexit, the clamour for the PM to stand down had been growing, and intensified after disastrous results in the May 2 English local elections.
The Conservatives are expected to fare similarly badly in this week’s European parliament elections, and are projected to come fifth, behind the Green Party, when the results are announced late on Sunday.
The pound initially jumped to a session high of $1.2725 after the news of Mrs May’s exit, before falling back to $1.2674, but still up 0.2 per cent on the day.
“The fact is that sterling volatility is going to rise from here, and Boris Johnson is going to go for the hard Brexit, which is going to be a huge disaster for the country,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at TF Global Markets.
HOW THE LEADERSHIP BATTLE WILL UNFOLD
All Conservative MPs can run to lead the party. The contest will begin the week after Mrs May resigns, and there could be a large number of candidates.
After nominations, Tory MPs will vote in a series of elimination rounds, until there are two candidates remaining. All 120,000 party members will then vote between the two.
The leadership battle could take about six weeks, during which time Mrs May will remain party leader and prime minister.
The winner will automatically become prime minister, and will have a tough job ahead of them trying to find a Brexit agreement that the UK’s divided parliament can agree upon.
In the last leadership contest in 2016, members never got to vote because all the candidates dropped out, except for Mrs May.
Here are the six most prominent names on a list of contenders that is expected to grow in the coming days.
ANDREA LEADSOM
The 56-year-old resigned as leader of the House of Commons this week to put space between herself and Mrs May and to clear the way for a second run for the party leadership.
She was in what became a two-woman race with Mrs May in 2016, but dropped out before the vote, in part because of a backlash against comments in which she suggested she had more of a stake in the future than Mrs May because she was a mother.
She apologised, but the controversy dampened her chances and helped put her rival in power. Ms Leadsom is an outspoken supporter of Brexit, who is seen by many to have been an effective House of Commons leader during an extremely contentious time.
BORIS JOHNSON
The former foreign secretary has made no secret of his desire to take the top job when May departs. The outspoken former London mayor, with his unkempt hair and flamboyant ways, has long been one of Britain’s best known politicians, and he is believed to enjoy strong support from rank-and-file Conservative Party members.
He was a key leader of the campaign that in 2016 convinced a majority of British voters to cast ballots in favour of leaving the European Union.
The 54-year-old planned a leadership run after that vote but eventually decided not to compete. He has already said he will seek the job this time around. He resigned as foreign secretary in July because of unhappiness with Mrs May’s Brexit plans.
DOMINIC RAAB
The former Brexit secretary is banking on his tireless advocacy for leaving the EU to help propel him to 10 Downing Street.
He served at the helm of the Brexit department for a relatively short time, taking the position in July and resigning in November over a policy rift with May.
Mr Raab said he left the Cabinet because he could not “in good conscience” support the deal Mrs May had reached with EU leaders about the terms of Britain’s withdrawal.
The 45-year-old has been highly critical of the PM’s approach. He is a longtime admirer of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The buttoned-down, serious Mr Raab is seen by many as a rising star in the conservative movement.
JEREMY HUNT
Mr Hunt stepped into the role of foreign secretary when Mr Johnson resigned. He has tried to raise his profile by making provocative statements to establish his credentials as a staunch Brexiteer, despite having backed the “Remain” side during the 2016 referendum.
He made headlines at a recent party conference by comparing the EU to the Soviet Union, earning rebukes from some European leaders but perhaps winning supporters among anti-EU members of his party.
Mr Hunt, 52, has held a variety of government posts, including a tenure as health secretary, and played an important role in the widely praised production of the 2012 Olympics in London.
SAJID JAVID
Unlike many of his competitors, the home secretary does not come from an elite background. He is the son of Pakistani immigrants and his father worked as a bus driver and shopkeeper.
He enjoyed a successful career in banking with Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank before entering politics and winning election to parliament in 2010. During the Brexit referendum of 2016, Mr Javid was on the “Remain” side but was noticeably lukewarm in his support for keeping Britain in the EU. He has since embraced Brexit.
He has raised his profile in recent months by taking aggressive action to curtail the arrival of small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel.
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