THE END OF MAY
Theresa May RESIGNS and finally admits defeat after Brexit shambles insisting ‘I’ve done my best’
The Prime Minister will trigger a Tory leadership race on June 7 - after Donald Trump's state visit
TEARFUL Theresa May today finally admitted her time was up and quit as Prime Minister insisting: "I've done my best".
The PM was forced to resign after she failed to deliver Brexit and lost the support of her own MPs - but will continue in office as a lame duck until July.
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Shortly after meeting Tory "executioner" Sir Graham Brady, she addressed the nation in the spring sunshine of Downing Street - watched by adoring husband Philip - and admitted her time is up.
The PM confessed she now has no chance of ever getting her Brexit deal through Parliament but insisted "I have done my best" to deliver on the referendum result.
As Mrs May enters her final days:
- Boris Johnson is favourite to take over as the next Prime Minister and vowed to pursue a No Deal Brexit if necessary
- Jeremy Hunt and Graham Brady entered the race to replace her too
- The leadership election will take around six weeks and conclude by the end of July
- Brexit is now on pause until the new PM is in place with Brussels bosses claiming the deal can't be rewritten
- Tory MPs paid tribute to Mrs May's resilience - even the ones who plotted against her
- Jeremy Corbyn demanded an immediate General Election
Today the PM claimed she had done all she could to take Britain out of the EU with a deal, saying: "Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone. And to honour the result of the EU referendum.
"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."
Her voice cracking, she attempted to defend her legacy and insisted she has helped to fix Britain's "burning injustices".
Mrs May concluded: "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."
After her speech, the PM and Philip May drove off to spend the Bank Holiday weekend at their home in Sonning, Berkshire.
A VERY LONG GOODBYE
Mrs May will stay in office for the next two weeks, allowing her to welcome Donald Trump to the UK on his state visit, and step down as party leader on June 7.
She will then continue as interim PM until a new Tory leader is chosen, and finally leave office in July.
Even after leaving No10, she plans to stay as MP for Maidenhead until the next election scheduled for 2022.
In a snap poll, two thirds of Brits said Mrs May was right to resign - and half said she had been a "bad" or "terrible" Prime Minister.
Jeremy Corbyn today called for the new PM to trigger a snap General Election and let voters decide who should lead the country, saying: "The Prime Minister is right to have resigned. She has now accepted what the country has known for months - she cannot govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party.
"Parliament is deadlocked and the Conservatives offer no solutions to the other major challenges facing our country. Whoever becomes the new Conservative leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election."
The embattled Mrs May ran out of road this week after her Brexit deal collapsed and ally Andrea Leadsom stormed out of the Cabinet.
Her resignation fires the starting gun on the Tory leadership race, with Boris Johnson at the head of a crowded field of contenders.
But the next PM could face the same Brexit deadlock as Mrs May - with Parliament and the Tory party bitterly divided over how to move forward.
Today European leaders insisted there is no prospect of ripping up the withdrawal agreement and starting talks again - although Irish PM Leo Varadkar admitted he was worried about the prospects for his country.
He said: "In the next couple of months we may see the election of a Eurosceptic Prime Minister who wants to repudiate the withdrawal agreement and go for a No Deal."
David Davis said the new leader should return to Brussels and demand the EU remove the hated backstop from the existing deal.
And Boris said: "We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or No Deal."
Tories today rallied around to praise Mrs May for her time in office - even the ones who stabbed in her in the back and quit her Government.
This is a sad but necessary day
Steve Baker
Mrs Leadsom, whose resignation earlier this week helped lead to Mrs May's departure, tweeted: "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."
Hardline rebel Steve Baker said: "Very dignified statement from Theresa May, beginning to set out the many things which she has achieved in office. This is a sad but necessary day."
Leadership candidate Dominic Raab, who is set to run to replace Mrs May, said: "Dignified as ever, @theresa_may showed her integrity. She remains a dedicated public servant, patriot and loyal Conservative."
Boris Johnson added: "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."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who is also tipped to run for the leadership, said: "Incredibly moving and dignified speech from the Prime Minister. She has given all in service of her country. Thank you Theresa."
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Nobody could have worked harder or had a greater sense of public duty than the Prime Minister."
Simon Hoare, one of Mrs May's closest allies, joked: "I hope there’s a most enormous gin awaiting the PM."
Paying tribute to his successor, David Cameron said: "I know what it feels like when you come to realise that your leadership time has finished, that the country needs a new leader.
"It's extremely difficult and painful to step outside Downing Street and say those things.
"She will be remembered as someone who worked very hard on our behalf. A dedicated public servant, who was passionate about the future of this country."
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'I have done my best': Theresa May's resignation speech in full
Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone.
And to honour the result of the EU referendum.
Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice.
Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union.
I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide.
I have done my best to do that.
I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbours that protects jobs, our security and our Union.
I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal.
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.
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.
So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen.
I have agreed with the Party Chairman and with the Chairman of the 1922 Committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week.
I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions, and I will continue to serve as her Prime Minister until the process has concluded.
It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.
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.
For many years the great humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton – who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport – was my constituent in Maidenhead.
At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice.
He said, "Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise."
He was right.
As we strive to find the compromises we need in our politics – whether to deliver Brexit, or to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland – we must remember what brought us here.
Because the referendum was not just a call to leave the EU but for profound change in our country.
A call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years.
We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started: the deficit is almost eliminated, our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity.
My focus has been on ensuring that the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and the South East, through our Modern Industrial Strategy.
We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job.
We are building more homes and helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder - so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did.
And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change and improving air quality.
This is what a decent, moderate and patriotic Conservative Government, on the common ground of British politics, can achieve - even as we tackle the biggest peacetime challenge any government has faced.
I know that the Conservative Party can renew itself in the years ahead.
That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our values.
Security; freedom; opportunity.
Those values have guided me throughout my career.
But the unique privilege of this office is to use this platform to give a voice to the voiceless, to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society.
That is why I put proper funding for mental health at the heart of our NHS long-term plan.
It is why I am ending the postcode lottery for survivors of domestic abuse.
It is why the Race Disparity Audit and gender pay reporting are shining a light on inequality, so it has nowhere to hide.
And that is why I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth, so nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.
Because this country is a Union.
Not just a family of four nations.
But a union of people – all of us.
Whatever our background, the colour of our skin, or who we love.
We stand together.
And together we have a great future.
Our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.
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.
Mrs May had been warned that if she didn't quit today, Sir Graham would start the process to force her out through a new no-confidence vote.
And Cabinet ministers threatened to bring down the Government if the PM didn't abandon her attempts to force through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Meanwhile the Tories face a near-total wipeout when the Euro election results are announced on Sunday night.
This morning Mrs May faced one final blow to her authority as Helen Grant resigned as Tory party vice-chair, saying she wants to be involved in the leadership race by backing Dominic Raab.
The Prime Minister wanted her legacy to be taking Britain out of the EU, before turning to the "burning injustices" of UK society.
Instead she will remembered for her stubborn refusal to compromise and inability to unite her party.
Her last-ditch bid to save the Brexit deal by offering MPs a vote on whether to hold a second referendum proved the last nail in her coffin, triggering a Cabinet rebellion with Andrea Leadsom resigning.
Mrs May's resignation will kickstart a furious race to replace her with Boris Johnson the favourite to take over.
Mr Raab, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove are also considered frontrunners - but as many as 20 Tory MPs could throw their hats in the ring.
Today Mr Hunt confirmed he's planning to run for No10 while in a surprise move Sir Graham quit his 1922 Committee position to launch his own run for the leadership.
The leadership election is set to be hugely divisive for the Tory party with the two different wings attacking each other over what should happen next with Brexit.
It's not just Theresa! Vince Cable to quit in July too
VINCE Cable today announced he will ALSO step down in late July - almost exactly the same time as Theresa May.
The Lib Dems boss revealed he'll hand over to a successor on July 23.
He previously revealed he was planning to resign as party leader after the European Parliament elections.
Today he formally kicked off a two-month leadership election with Jo Swinson and Ed Davey favourites to replace him.
Sir Vince told members: "Our campaigning over the last three years has kept the cause of remaining in the European Union alive, and I now believe we have a strong chance of stopping Brexit."
He took over in 2017 with the party at a low ebb having suffered two poor General Election results.
But the Lib Dems have since risen in the polls, with a strong showing in the recent local elections.
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What next after Theresa May quits?
THERESA May's resignation today kickstarts the Tory leadership election.
The Prime Minister will formally stand down as party leader on June 7 - but will stay in place while the new PM is being chosen, rather than handing over to an interim chief such as David Lidington.
The leadership contest, overseen by party chairman Brandon Lewis, will take around six weeks.
Any Tory MP can enter the race, and the list of contenders is then whittled down by the parliamentary party.
MPs vote in multiple rounds, eliminating one candidate each time until just two are left.
The party's 120,000 activists then choose behind the final shortlist of two, with the winner declared leader and Prime Minister.
When Mrs May became leader, she didn't have to submit to a vote of members because Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the race.
So the last time activists have had a say on the leadership was 2005, when David Cameron defeated David Davis.
Former PM David Cameron 'feels desperately sorry' for Theresa May after resignation announcement
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Today top Brexiteer Steve Baker insisted the next leader must be someone who is fully committed to our EU departure and ready to leave with No Deal.
Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "A new leader can get us out of the EU on October 31, that is in law. Once that’s happened, then we can move on to other issues."
But the veteran Europhile Ken Clarke hit back, saying: "The idea that Conservative and DUP MPs will all come together behind a Nigel Farage-type figure is nonsense."
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Jeremy Corbyn calls for an immediate General Election after PM Theresa May's resignation
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