UK’s Cameron to resign tomorrow, clears path for May

British Prime Minister David Cameron.

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, will resign his position tomorrow, he said yesterday. The move paves the way for Theresa May to succeed him as British leader.

May, currently home secretary, was on course to becoming the United Kingdom’s (UK) next prime minister after her rival, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out of the race.

Leadsom, the energy minister, said she did not believe she had sufficient support within the party to lead a strong and stable government.

Lawmakers from the party last week chose May and Leadsom as the final two candidates to succeed Cameron, who announced his resignation after the UK voted to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23.

May, who supported remaining in the EU, won 199 votes from the party’s lawmakers on Thursday, while Leadsom, who backed the campaign to leave, had 84.

Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee – a committee of Conservative backbench members of Parliament – said he must formally confirm May as the new Conservative Party leader.

“We will be in a position to move forward quite quickly,” he said, without giving a precise timetable. He said there was no need to rerun the election.

May would become the UK’s first female prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, who governed from 1979 to 1990.

Boris Johnson, a leading “Leave” campaigner and the former mayor of London who was favorite to replace Cameron before he dropped out of the leadership race last month, gave May his backing.

“Theresa May will provide the authority and the leadership necessary to unite the Conservative party and take the country forward in the coming weeks and months,” he said in a statement.

Leadsom apologised to May yesterday after suggesting in an interview with the Times of London that being a mother made her a better candidate for prime minister than May, who has no children. Last week, Leadsom denied embellishing her resume regarding her 25-year career in finance following media reports that she had done so.