Cameron was to face MPs in parliament for a final time on Wednesday in the weekly prime minister’s questions session, before meeting Queen Elizabeth II to tender his resignation to the head of state.
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“I am honored and humbled to have been chosen by the conservative party to become its leader”, said Theresa May in London, after she was formally confirmed as the victor of the conservative leadership contest on Monday afternoon.
Leadsom withdrew after a weekend uproar over comments she made suggesting that being a mother would be an advantage in the job.
While May supported Britain staying in the European Union, she cut a low profile during the referendum and has insisted she will honour the vote, stressing: “Brexit means Brexit“.
However, she said recently that “Brexit means Brexit”, and that the voters have spoken.
“I truly believe we can be the greatest nation on Earth”, she said, promising “prosperity”, not “austerity”. Media in England have labeled her as “steely” or even “ruthless”, according to NBC News. “She’s more than able to provide the leadership that our country is going to need in the years ahead, and she will have my full support”.
She said: “He’s changed our party for the better, he’s changed our country for the better, he’s also given me huge opportunities, so for me it was a kind of sad day to see David Cameron’s last Cabinet meeting”.
May was confirmed as the next Conservative leader on Monday after her only rival Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race.
Speaking outside her campaign headquarters in central London, energy minister Andrea Leadsom said a nine-week leadership campaign to succeed David Cameron at such a critical time for the United Kingdom would be “highly undesirable”.
The announcement came within an hour of Mrs May officially launching her leadership bid at a speech in Birmingham.
“Mr Gove, the justice secretary and the minister with whom she has most frequently and spectacularly clashed in the past six years, must also fear for his future in the cabinet”.
Britain’s Theresa May, left, is applauded by Conservative Party members of parliament outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Monday July 11, 2016.
The contest had been due to be decided by the party’s grassroots members before Leadsom pulled out.
He said a “prolonged period of transition” was not necessary.
The former shadow business secretary Eagle is hoping to oust opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
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Britain voted last month in a national referendum to get out of the European Union, leading Prime Minister David Cameron to announce plans to resign after his pro-E.U. side suffered the loss.
