Theresa May’s run as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom seems to be approaching its end. Initially a Remain voter, May had to step in as Prime Minister in 2016 and has had the difficult task to deliver the impossible Brexit that leavers had promised their voters. With over a year of negotiations, May produced a deal in late 2018 that failed several votes in Parliament, MPs clearly communicating that this is not the Brexit they imagined.
Now Theresa May is facing increasing pressure to step down as Prime Minister. Her deal failed on several occasions; her negotiations with the opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, in an attempt to find a compromise, also failed; her government has lost the most ministers in the shortest amount of time in British history, as resignations rain left and right of May. Another recent failure of her government is not securing a short extension for Brexit until the end of June, as May originally wanted, and being stuck with European elections at this very moment. Needless to say, the UK is eager to see new leadership and fresh ideas about handling Brexit.
Nevertheless, removing Theresa May from power is not as easy as it sounds. The PM survived a vote of no-confidence in December and is legally immune to another one for a whole year. A special committee was formed to craft legislation that will circumvent this rule and enable Parliament from voting down May soon, but the PM was given the choice to save her honor, as it is, and willingly step down before June 10.
May has not announced her official decision yet. She still has to put forward another Brexit bill before Parliament in the coming days. Furthermore, her cabinet stated that she will still be in office when Donald Trump comes for a scheduled visit on June 3, though it is possible for her to announce her resignation beforehand and still serve as PM until new elections are held.
Currently Boris Johnson has the most support for next PM. He is a hard Brexiteer and is expected to bring the United Kingdom out of the EU even if no deal is possible.
