Theresa May to Become PM in Yet Another Brexit Surprise
There seems to be no bounds to the surprises that the aftermath of the Brexit referendum will yield.
Before the results of the Brexit referendum became known, David Cameron was expected to stay on at least for the preliminary negotiations with the EU about the UK steeping out. As the result became clear, Cameron announced his intention to stand down as PM with a successor being appointed at the Conservative party conference in October.
Former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was widely expected to stand for the leadership, but following a surprise move by his (former) ally Michael Gove to stand for the leadership himself, Johnson decided to not even contest the election.
In yet another surprise, Andrea Leadsom emerged as the main competitor to longtime Home Secretary Theresa May, defeating such party stalwarts as Michael Gove and Liam Fox along the way.
Even this morning, most people expected a 2 months long leadership battle between Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom, with the next PM being appointed sometime September or October. Then the bombed dropped (again) with Andrea Leadsom deciding to pull out of the contest, citing the interests of the party and the country, both of which needs stability and certainty rather than a 9 weeks long leadership campaign.
And then, a short while ago, PM David Cameron announced that his last official function as a PM will be to attend Prime Ministers Question Time in Parliament this Wednesday, and that he will turn in his resignation to the Her Majesty the Queen on the same afternoon, intending to advise Her Majesty to appoint Theresa May as his successor.
If all goes according to the plan outlined by David Cameron, Theresa May will be appointed the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Wednesday afternoon becoming the second female PM in British history.
Some Labour MPs are naturally calling for a general election instead of a “coronation” of a new Conservative PM, although it seems like it might be wiser for Labour to sort out their own leadership issues before an election is called. Other Labour MPs, such as the MP for Barrow & Furness, John Woodcock, appear somewhat more positive towards the appointment of May as PM:
What a relief re Andrea Leadsom. Congratulations to Theresa May – for all our differences she is formidable. Big challenge for Labour now.
— John Woodcock (@JWoodcockMP) July 11, 2016
There will no doubt be difficult times ahead for the new PM, but as it stands, Theresa May, who supported Remain in the referendum, seems to be the only politician to have actually gained anything from the Leave vote.
Cover photo of Theresa May by Policy Exchange released under a CC BY 2.0 license.
