Iran Press/Europe: Britain's prime minister has finally bowed to pressure from her own party by announcing she will stand down as conservative leader on 7 June, as the frontrunner to succeed her, Boris Johnson declared he would take the UK out of the EU on 31 October, whether or not a withdrawal agreement has been reached with Brussels.
Theresa May decided on Wednesday night that she had to resign as prime minister, as support for her “new” 10-point Brexit deal drained away.
The Conservative Party's leadership contest was triggered in earnest by Theresa May’s emotionally-charged statement on Friday 24 May on the steps of 10 Downing Street. The prime minister’s voice broke as she set out plans to leave office before parliament breaks up for the summer in July.
Struggling to hold back her tears, Theresa May, who is the 35th person to quit the government over Brexit in 23 months, said that after three unsuccessful attempts to pass her Brexit deal, she now accepted it was “in the interests of the country” for a new prime minister to take over the process. She added: "I am announcing today my resignation on Friday 7 June from the leadership of the Conservative Party."
In an apparent warning to the party not to choose an intransigent no-dealer as her successor, she said the new leader would need to seek consensus and be willing to compromise to deliver a Brexit which protects jobs, security and the Union.
May will remain in place as prime minister until a new leader has been chosen by her party: a process senior Conservatives hope will be completed by late July.
Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to succeed May, but he will be one among a crowded field of contenders, with the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, declaring his candidacy on Friday. A host of others are expected to follow.
Johnson was quick out of the blocks after May’s resignation, insisting the UK must leave the EU on 31 October, "deal or no deal", in an attempt to shore up his appeal to the right of the party.
Johnson did not hesitate to throw himself into the fray, telling an economic conference in Switzerland: “We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal. The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no deal.”
But moderate Tories warned that a new leader taking power on a no-deal platform risked splitting the party, and former attorney general Dominic Grieve said it may not survive in its current form.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt set himself up as Boris Johnson’s heavyweight rival for No 10 by confirming he will stand. Also expected to throw their hats in the ring in the coming days were health secretary Matt Hancock, environment secretary Michael Gove, and former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab.
Tory grandees announced that the process to find a replacement for Theresa May would begin in the week after her resignation as leader, with MPs whittling the field down in a series of votes before the final decision is made in a ballot of 125,000 conservative party members around the country.
Many analysts believe that given the substantial differences that remain between the Conservatives and Labour over Brexit, and given the hard-line top European Union politicians are taking in Brussels, Theresa May's successor, whether it is Boris Johnson or anyone else, will not be able to do much to solve the Brexit conundrum.
Written by Seyyed Reza Mirtaher
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