Cameron to quit Wednesday; Theresa May to be new British PM

webfact · July 11, 2016

Cameron to quit Wednesday; Theresa May to be new British PM
By JILL LAWLESS

LONDON (AP) — A political era ended Monday — unexpectedly and without an election — as Prime Minister David Cameron said he will step down in two days in favor of Theresa May, a senior member of his Cabinet who will become Britain's second female leader.

Cameron announced his resignation last month because he backed the losing side in a referendum for Britain to leave the European Union. So did May — but infighting, bad timing and cold feet among leaders of the victorious "leave" campaign means that she will have the task of leading a divided country out of the EU.

The latest chapter in the political turmoil spawned by the EU vote moved with breathtaking speed.

On Monday morning, there were two candidates to lead the governing Conservative Party. At noon, Andrea Leadsom stepped down, making May leader-in-waiting. By late afternoon, Cameron had announced that May would be moving into 10 Downing Street within 48 hours.

"We will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening," Cameron said in a brief statement outside the leader's official London residence.

Cameron, who has governed since May 2010, said he would offer his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday after attending a final session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. The monarch will then invite May — as leader of a party with a majority in Parliament — to lead a new government.

Speaking outside Parliament surrounded by Conservative colleagues, May said she was "honored and humbled" to have been chosen the party's new leader.

May campaigned tepidly to remain in the EU, but sought to reassure those who voted "leave" that she would respect their decision. She said there would be no attempt to avoid a British exit from the bloc.

"Brexit means Brexit, and we're going to make a success of it," she said, promising to deliver "a strong, new positive vision for the future of our country."

May's sudden victory came when Leadsom, the energy minister, stepped down from the Conservative leadership race after a weekend furor over comments in which she appeared to say being a mother gave her an advantage over May, who has no children.

Only a week after she announced she was running, Leadsom said she had concluded she lacked "sufficient support" among legislators to be leader. She said "the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well-supported prime minister."

Cameron's resignation announcement the day after the June 23 referendum triggered the Tory leadership race. The most prominent contenders to replace him — including "leave" campaign leaders Boris Johnson and Michael Gove — withdrew or were eliminated from contention one by one amid allegations of treachery and scheming.

Conservative lawmakers narrowed the field from five contenders to just Leadsom and May. Some 150,000 party members were due to choose between them in the coming weeks, with the result to be announced in September.

But with Leadsom's withdrawal, the party announced that May would be the new leader "with immediate effect."

May, 59, is one of the most experienced ministers in Cameron's Cabinet, serving for six years in the notoriously difficult job of home secretary, akin to the interior minister's post in other countries. She has a reputation for solid, unflashy competence and for prevailing over her rivals. Former Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke was caught on microphone last week telling a colleague, "Theresa's a bloody difficult woman — but you and I worked for Margaret Thatcher."

The comparison with Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who governed from 1979 to 1990 and refashioned Britain in line with her free-market ideology, appeals to many Tories.

Leadsom's decision to quit came after the weekend uproar over her comments about the role of motherhood in politics. She at first defended, then apologized for, an interview in which she said that being a mother "means you have a very real stake in the future of our country."

Before her announcement, Leadsom apologized to May, telling the Daily Telegraph newspaper that she believed having children has "no bearing on the ability to be PM."

Leadsom's rivals said both her comments on motherhood and her subsequent flip-flopping showed she lacked the experience under pressure required to be prime minister. Her allies accused May supporters of trying to undermine Leadsom.

The Conservatives aren't the only ones thrown into turmoil by the referendum, which has also sparked a leadership struggle in the main opposition Labour party.

Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle launched an attempt to unseat party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a staunchly uncharismatic socialist who has a strong base of support among Labour members but little backing from the party's 229 lawmakers.

Labour legislators have passed a no-confidence motion in Corbyn, and many of his top team in Parliament resigned from their jobs to protest his leadership. He is refusing to resign and says he can win a leadership battle, which would be decided by a vote of party members.

May's accession is unlikely to end the political turbulence. She will be under immediate pressure to launch two years of formal exit talks with the EU by triggering Article 50 of the bloc's constitution.

She also faces calls to seek a mandate from voters well before the next scheduled national election in 2020, although there is no legal requirement for her to do so.

Oliver Daddow, senior lecturer in politics at Nottingham Trent University, said May would be well advised to call a snap election while Labour is in disarray.

"She'd have to really mess it up not to win," he said.

Senior Conservatives quickly rallied around the new leader after the referendum campaign, which widened the party's longstanding split over Europe. Gove, the justice secretary, said May "has my full support as our next prime minister," while Johnson, the former London mayor, said she would "provide the authority and the leadership necessary to unite the Conservative Party and take the country forward."

May's honeymoon may be short-lived. She faces the possibly insurmountable challenge of negotiating a new relationship with the EU that can satisfy Brexit-supporting Britons, disappointed "remain" voters and the 27 remaining members of the bloc. She will have to balance access to the EU's single market, which the economy has come to rely on, with immigration controls that the "leave" campaign promised.

"She is in a position of leading a country which wants to have its cake and eat it — which wants to leave the EU but yet have access to the single market without free movement of people," said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London. "The idea that she is going to be able to satisfy everybody I think is far-fetched. That reckoning is two years or so down the line, but it is a reckoning that will eventually come."

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this story.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-12

webfact · July 11, 2016

Stealth candidate Theresa May to be UK's next leader

By GREGORY KATZ

LONDON (AP) After all of the flamboyant characters and very public backstabbing in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, the winner turned out to be an understated workhorse who maintained a low profile throughout the campaign.

Home Secretary Theresa May, 59, is not well-known internationally, but she has served for six years in one of Britain's toughest jobs, playing an important role in counter-terrorism policy, and will now take charge of delicate negotiations to separate Britain from the European Union.

She was less visible and less talked-about as a likely future prime minister than Treasury Chief George Osborne and former London Mayor Boris Johnson, but she proved to be the stealth candidate, outmaneuvering both in the intense competition to follow Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

During the EU referendum campaign, Osborne was passionate about remaining in the EU, and lost his leadership hopes when voters turned the other way. Johnson led the campaign to take Britain out of the EU, but never formally entered the leadership race because of dwindling support among his party's lawmakers.

By contrast, May stayed largely out of the referendum fray. She tepidly backed remaining in the EU in a single speech, then remained largely out of sight as the behemoths of the Conservative Party including Cameron and Justice Secretary Michael Gove did each other in.

"We do have this remarkable situation in British politics now where the people who led a fantastically successful campaign that got 17 million people to vote to leave the European Union have all but disappeared," said Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics at King's College London.

May's triumph is no surprise to colleagues who say she is cool and calm under pressure. She has grown in confidence and stature after six years in the limelight, projecting authority in front of TV cameras that once made her nervous. She is not flashy, does not call attention to herself, and had seemed content with her public role as a loyal Cameron backer.

There is no doubt she has her critics. Conservative Party elder statesman Kenneth Clarke last week called her a "bloody difficult woman" in an unguarded moment when he didn't know he was being filmed.

Others praise her open-minded approach.

Lynne Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat in the House of Lords who played a key role in winning support for same-sex marriage in Britain, said May at first opposed the measure but eventually helped make it the law of the land.

"Theresa May changed her view and by time I authored same sex marriage law she backed me all the way unsung hero," Featherstone tweeted Monday.

May has long seemed aware that the Conservative Party is saddled with an elitist, out-of-touch image. Serving as party chairwoman in 2002, she warned that the Conservatives had become known as "the nasty party" and needed to change their ways and broaden their appeal.

In her brief, successful leadership campaign, she took a more populist stance somewhat at odds with her "law and order" image. She emphasized the need for more equal opportunity and fairness within Britain.

"Right now, if you're born poor, you will die on average nine years earlier than others," she said. "If you're black, you're treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you're white. If you're a white, working-class boy, you're less likely than anybody else to go to university. If you're at a state school, you're less likely to reach the top professions than if you're educated privately. If you're a woman, you still earn less than a man."

As home secretary, May has earned a reputation as a reliable, even-tempered minister who capably ran a sprawling department responsible for counter-terrorism policy, policing, immigration, border control and drug policy.

She was criticized at times for problems with border staffing but generally got high marks from politicians and the media while taking a hard line on national security matters and calling for easier deportation of extremists.

She took steps to limit the "stop and search" powers of police seen as unfair to young minority men and used her position to criticize police and firefighting departments for lacking diversity.

At the same time, she has spoken out about unchecked immigration into Britain, stating that current levels are too high.

May ran a largely scandal-free department and managed to keep her personal life out of the news the only exception being a slight media fascination with her impressive collection of shoes. She has spoken out at times about living with diabetes and colleagues have said they don't believe the illness will have any impact on her ability to serve as prime minister.

May is a vicar's daughter who came up through Conservative Party ranks, working behind the scenes at her local Conservative Association before becoming a city councilor in a London borough, then entering Parliament in 1997. Her position within the party was helped when she served as its chairwoman in 2002 and 2003.

Like several other top leaders in her party, May was educated at Oxford, where she was introduced to her future husband Philip by Benazir Bhutto, who went on to become Pakistan's leader before she was assassinated.

They met at a student Conservative Association disco at the height of the disco era and first bonded over their mutual love of cricket.

She worked at the Bank of England and later as a financial consultant and international affairs adviser at the Association for Payment Clearing Services before entering politics.

She married Philip in 1980. The couple did not have children which was briefly a bone of contention during the abbreviated leadership campaign when a rival suggested having children made a person better qualified to serve as prime minister.

May is known as a private person who does not easily bare her soul in public. She has only rarely spoken about her father's death in a car accident one year after her marriage or the disappointment of not being able to have a child.

Stressing her extensive experience near the top of government, her campaign for the top job was launched with the slogan "Theresa May is ready to be prime minister from Day One."

Day One will be Wednesday, when she is expected to visit Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace before assuming her formidable new role.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-12

Raymonddiaz · July 11, 2016

Politic is a game.play it at your own risk.

happy Joe · July 11, 2016

Theresa May seems to be the wise and lucid person who perfectly suits the situation.

The pound should go up ... a little.

jaidam · July 11, 2016

Hard to follow current politics. May should be charged with treason for her efforts in destroying sovereignty and be awaiting beheading in the tower of London, not becoming prime minister. Farage was clearly the man for the job, remember Brits just voted to take back their country. I get the feeling May will try to weasel out of Brexit or water it down, which would be totally unacceptable.

IMA_FARANG · July 11, 2016

In Britain, as well as in the U.S., politicians are controlled by the wealthy and privaledged classes.

Don't fool yourself, the bankers have bought and own all the politicians in both countries now.

That is what they rally mean by "free markets".

Edited July 11, 2016 by IMA_FARANG

webfact · July 11, 2016

Theresa May to become UK prime minister on Wednesday

LONDON: -- David Cameron has said Theresa May will become the UK’s next Prime Minister after confirming he plans to resign on Wednesday.

The announcement comes after May’s only rival in the Conservative leadership race, Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the contest.

Cameron confirmed he would go to Buckingham Palace earlier than expected and hand in his resignation to the Queen following Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

It means May, the current Home Secretary (interior minister), will become Britain’s second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, who was in power from 1979 to 1990.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-07-12

shirtless · July 11, 2016

RIP great Britain.

soalbundy · July 12, 2016

Brexit hasn't yet been ratified by parliament, hopefully it wont be.

nausea · July 12, 2016

I wonder, it seems to me that if it all goes horribly wrong May will get the blame, if it all goes wonderfully right the leavers will take the credit.

neverdie · July 12, 2016

David Cameron, woeful British PM, only outdone by Tony Blair the war criminal.

Surely nobody can outdo these two, surely?

jaidam · July 12, 2016

We had a resounding victory in the Brexit referendum - talk about short memories! We will Brexit, the alternative would be to sack London in protest and go from there. Just because a few thousand dole bludgers, teachers and soap dodgers are having a right old public moan doesn't mean Brexit will not happen. It just makes the whole show of the butt-hurt libs/elite/foreigners more satisfying for us Brexiteers.

Recent months have seen a significant shift in public desires to stop the UK existing to serve N African and middle eastern religious zealots, and to concentrate on the lives and futures of British people instead. This clearly does not suit many forum members, but then the UK does not exist merely to pleasure a few socialist forumers whinging about change. May really is the wrong choice - we need somebody with conviction, someone like Nigel Farage.

GinBoy2 · July 12, 2016

Now I am no expert on British politics, but as an Anglophile I have had a passing interest over the years.

I'm looking at a slightly tangential point, one that I find fascinating.

For all the Labor parties commitments to mandatory female candidate lists etc etc, it's the right wing Conservatives that have produced the only two female British Prime Ministers, just through talent and will.

As a US liberal, I think that's a lesson we all should learn from!

blueyeshk · July 12, 2016

Never before a PM left such a mess behind

Eclipse · July 12, 2016

Yeah just what the U.K needs right now. A racist bigot.

May was the best of a bad bunch.

At least she will calm things down a bit and get a decent deal rather than antagonising EU and making things worse than they already are.

Jip99 · July 12, 2016

Keep wet dreaming!

Maybe that is what caused you to miss what May said about "Brexit is going to happen".

Suck it up and move on.

daveAustin · July 12, 2016

Cameron has actually been one of Britain's more useful PMs and was a good speaker. I would've preferred Leadsom (let's face it, Farage would never happen) but May is switched on, has a big set of stones and is probably more equipped than anyone else at the moment -- she'll drive a harder bargain than Cameron and won't take any crap from Merkel and her Frenchy sidekick. I also suspect she is a closet Brexiter, she understands the need to curtail immigration (and won't be labelled as a 'fascist' for doing so) and the last thing she'll do is go against the wishes of the majority. Sorry chaps, but the membership is over. She ain't my favourite, after her tough treatment of British spouses, but is probably just what GREAT Britain needs right now.

nabbie · July 12, 2016

The most impossible job is being PM and someone has to take it.....

Berty100 · July 12, 2016

2% a resounding victory

vogie · July 12, 2016

Still a victory, rock on Tommy. ????

eliotness · July 12, 2016

I guess maths isn't your strongest subject. The difference was just short of 4% and that was 1.7 million people.

?

neverdie · July 12, 2016

Tony Blair.

Jip99 · July 12, 2016

Take out the Scots (who had a different agenda anyway) and the difference was almost 7%.

Berty100 · July 12, 2016

Take out all the remain votes and the difference was 100%

FACT is that Brexit nedded 50.1% to win, and the result was 1.9% above

brexiteer · July 12, 2016

Not sure how you managed to miss it, but here is how The Express reported it..

NO parliament vote on Article 50: MPs told 'people have spoken' and 'Brexit means Brexit' MPs who want to overturn the EU referendum result have been told “the people have spoken" and there will be no parliamentary veto.

alanrchase · July 12, 2016

At least she is standing up and being counted. The weasels are the ones that ran away.

TKDfella · July 12, 2016

Not going to express feelings about Brexit. What I think is important now the Britain 'settle down' and go in one direction or the other. If Britain is out then start trying to build confidence in the international scene that Britain can adjust. This is probably one of the reasons for not waiting till October to change PM so that money markets etc. will have some idea of what Britain will do. Like others here, I think the game of politics is full of turnabouts, backstabbing etc. Many years ago I once attended a lecture on Logic and was surprised to find myself among students of politics learning how to be 'illogically plausible' and evading answers. I laughed and was told to leave. But let's face, it can be a dangerous game too. Not my idea of 'fun' at all.

alien365 · July 12, 2016

I don't think Farage or Borris ever had the opportunity to run with the barrage of abuse that they faced by remain voters (48% of voters). Brexit has shown a clear division in our society. Theresa May now has to find the best deal for our entire population, which should include the interests of the 48% who wanted to remain. It will never be possible to please the far left and the far right at the same time but hopefully she can reunite the rest of us who have less extremist views.

Edited July 12, 2016 by alien365

alanrchase · July 12, 2016

Surely an accomplished politician can handle some abuse? Goes with the job. Running away because things get iffy tells me about their lack of conviction.

GAZZPA · July 12, 2016

This is a smart move. Whatever people think of Theresa May as PM is pretty irrelevant at this stage. What the country needed was new leadership pretty much immediately.

This will stabilise things for sure but I would not in a rush to present article 50. Whatever happens if Britian leave the EU (and I think it is still if) then both the EU and the UK must do a deal on trade, the deal is going to happen but there will have to be some compromise.

If access to the free trade is to achieved Britain will have to accept the freedom of movement. However, it will still be free of EU bureaucracy so it can pass its own laws on control. For example, it can say that EU members can live and work in the UK but will not be entitled to welfare. It can also say that free health is only available after a period of continual work and tax payments. I am not a politician and have no idea if these are viable really but I am just making an example.

What I do know is that it is not just the immigration that is a problem with the EU, it is simply that 60% of the UK laws are not coming form the EU and this will grow as the EU tries to move towards a federal state.

Not being in the EU will stop this and Britian can take back control of it's country. I saw Lord price making a positive statement last week about how Britian can enter into independent trade deals with countries all over the world, it is his hob to drive this i believe so it may be that things could end up working in Britains favour after all.

I can see the EU collapsing in the not too distant future,, more banking issues this week and Italy on the brink of a bailout, put simply it is not working in many ways, too much divided wealth, too many young adults unemployed in Southern EU states, too much central governance and too much bureaucracy.

Anyway, hope I am right about Britain, time will tell.

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