May, who supported the “remain” vote during the United Kingdom referendum on its membership of the European Union will be be the second female British Prime Minister.
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The battle to become the next leader of the Conservative party and the next Prime Minister became a one-horse race on Monday after Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the running, leaving Home Secretary May unopposed.
Cameron has said he will leave office on Wednesday after his final session of Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament.
He said: “She is 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”.
Cameron announced he was planning to step down as Britian’s prime minster after a narrow majority of voters elected to leave the European Union in a referendum last month, triggering a whirlwind leadership challenge in his Conservative party.
“What she decides to do about her Cabinet is entirely up to her – I’ve not asked for a job, nor would I expect to be offered one as part of the campaign”, he said.
Britain’s Theresa May has been confirmed as the victor of the ruling Conservatives’ leadership contest and will be installed as prime minister shortly, the chairman of a party committee running the contest said on Monday.
“Welcome news we have 1 candidate with overwhelming support to be next PM”, Osborne said on Twitter.
Theresa May, who will be Britain’s next prime minister, often attracts media attention for her choice of footwear.
Her withdrawal also follows a row over and interview with the Times newspaper which suggested she had said she would be a better leader than rival Theresa May because she is a mother.
The queen has the formal role of appointing the new leader.
Leadsom was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. The leadership vote among Conservative Party members had been due to run until early September.
A disappointed Andrew Bridgen has said he wonders “if politics will ever be in the possession of decent people again” after Andrea Leadsom quit the Tory leadership race.
British politics has been thrown into turmoil by the referendum result, which has sparked leadership struggles in both the governing Conservative and main opposition Labour parties.
“I truly believe we can be the greatest nation on Earth”, she said, promising “prosperity”, not “austerity”.
Leadsom’s rivals said both her comments and her subsequent flip-flopping show the junior energy minister doesn’t have the experience under pressure required to be prime minister.
Flanked by dozens of applauding MPs from all sides of the party, Mrs May said she would offer “strong, proven leadership to steer us through what will be hard and uncertain economic and political times”. Because the Conservative Party is in power, only its 150,000 members get to pick the party leader, who by default becomes prime minister. “Theresa May has strength, integrity and determination to do the job”.
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“These are dark times for Labour and they are risky times for our country”, Eagle said.
