May to follow Thatcher after rival’s shock exit
Print Edition
HOME Secretary Theresa May is set to become Britain’s first woman prime minister since Margaret Thatcher after her only rival abruptly quit the race yesterday, removing the need for a drawn-out leadership contest.
May, 59, was left as the only candidate to succeed David Cameron, who announced he was stepping down after Britons voted last month to leave the European Union.
May and Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, had been due to contest a ballot of around 150,000 Conservative party members, with the result to be declared by September 9. But Leadsom’s unexpected withdrawal opens the way for May to take over much sooner.
Her victory means that the complex process of extricating Britain from the EU will be led by someone who favored a vote to Remain in last month’s membership referendum.
Leadsom, 53, has never served in Cabinet and was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful Leave campaign.
She had been strongly criticized over a newspaper interview in which she appeared to suggest that being a mother meant she had more of a stake in the country’s future than May, who has no children. Some Conservatives said they were disgusted by the remarks, for which Leadsom later apologized, while others said they showed naivety and a lack of judgment.
Leadsom told reporters she was pulling out of the race because a nine-week leadership campaign was highly undesirable at such a critical time. She acknowledged that May had secured much stronger backing in a vote of Conservative members of parliament last week.
“Strong leadership is needed urgently to begin the work of withdrawing from the European Union,” Leadsom said.
“I have ... concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister. I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish Theresa May the very greatest success. I assure her of my full support.”
Exactly when May, who has served as home secretary for the past six years, will become prime minister is not yet certain.
Graham Brady, head of the Conservative party committee in charge of the leadership contest, said there were still constitutional procedures to be observed before her appointment could be confirmed.
“We’re not discussing coronations, we’re discussing a proper procedural process which should conclude very soon,” he told reporters.
In a speech in Birmingham earlier in the day, May set out her vision for the economy, calling for “a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.”
She said she would prioritize house-building, a crackdown on tax evasion, lower energy costs and a narrowing of the “unhealthy” gap between the pay of employees and corporate bosses.
Although she had favored remaining in the EU, she said there could be no second referendum and no attempt to rejoin by the back door.
“As prime minister, I will make sure that we leave the European Union,” she said.
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