UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced her resignation today after pressure on her to quit reached a critical point following her failure to win support for her Brexit deal.
The Conservative leader broke down in tears as she said she would stand down as Tory party leader on June 7 and make way for a successor.
“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,” said Mrs May.
“So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday the 7th of June.”
Her voice breaking, Mrs May said she would be leaving a job it has been “the honour of my life to hold.”
Her announcement came after she met with the chairman of the party’s key backbench committee in London on Friday morning, local time.
The 1922 Committee set the showdown meeting for Mrs May, who agreed to set a departure timetable rather than face a leadership challenge.
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.
Several British media outlets reported that Mrs May would agree to give up the prime minister’s post on June 10, sparking a Conservative leadership contest. She may then stay in office as a caretaker prime minister until Tory MPs and members choose a successor.
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.