Speaking in Birmingham this morning (11 July), May said the referendum was a vote to leave the European Union but “it was also a vote for serious change” and that the only surprise about the UK’s vote to leave is that “there is so much surprise in Westminster about the public’s appetite for change”.
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The Prime Minister, who announced his resignation following last month’s Leave vote, warned that there will be “other problems ahead” in addition to the recent fall in the value of sterling and the initial impact on the financial markets. “The uncertainty regarding growth will end once we have a new accord”, he said. The currency was on track for its biggest daily gain since the Brexit vote drove it to 31-year lows.
More than 1,000 barristers and advocates have urged the Prime Minister to allow Parliament to determine whether the United Kingdom should leave the European Union or not following the referendum in favour of Brexit.
A separate group of lawyers advising the British government has said the prime minister does not need parliamentary approval to start the process. “So I think people inside of government will be saying to her, ‘Take over as soon as possible, and you can provide the leadership that is now lacking'”.
Her last rival, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out of the race on Monday, removing the need for a nine-week contest to decide who would become leader of the ruling Conservative Party and prime minister.
May will become Britain’s second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.
“We French will be one of the most demanding countries”, he said, especially regarding the City of London’s financial district’s ability to trade in euros.
Here is what she has said about the department, some information on likely candidates to run it and frontrunners to take over from George Osborne as finance minister.
“We must not waste time – the conservative party went fast” in getting May in position, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday.
May, who was in the pro-Remain camp, has adopted a more conciliatory stance since the referendum result and has signaled a willingness to compromise on the trade-off between single market access and curbing European Union migrants.
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“People need certainty as quickly as reasonably possible, at least on the process and broad timing, which would calm people down”, said Jonathan Herbst, a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright who advises banks.
