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Chapter One

Theresa May officially stepped down

Theresa May officially stepped down as PRIME MINISTER and Tory leader June 7, 2019.

Theresa May has officially stepped down as the leader of the Conservative Party on Friday, but will remain as prime minister until her successor is chosen. She announced her resignation two weeks ago, saying it was a matter of deep regret that she had been unable to deliver Brexit.

Eleven Conservative MP's are vying to replace her as party leader and, ultimately, prime minister.

The winner of the contest is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July. Mrs. May remains acting party leader during the leadership election process.

THERESA MAY ANNOUNCING HER RESIGNATION FRIDAY MAY 24TH, 2019

Theresa May announced her resignation this morning in Downing Street (pictured) after months of pressure over her Brexit negotiations

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May announced on Friday May 24th, 2019 that she will resign on June 7, following a mutiny in her Conservative Party over her handling of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. May met with the leader of a group of hardline Brexit supporters from her party earlier Friday to agree a timetable to stand down and allow a successor to be chosen from amongst the Conservative ranks.

May is expected to continue as caretaker prime minister until her party elects a new leader. That internal election process will begin in the days immediately following her resignation on June 7. The leader of the party automatically becomes the prime minister.

Speaking to the nation outside her office, May said she believed that "if you give people a choice, you have a duty to implement what they decide," referring to the 2016 public referendum that saw the nation opt to leave the EU. "I have done my best," she said.

"I have done everything I can to convince MP's," she said, noting that she had "tried three times" to get the deal she reached with European negotiators approved by Parliament.

"I believe it was right to persevere even where the odds against success seemed high," she said. "But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort." May said "I deeply regret" being unable to deliver on the Brexit commitment.

"I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold,"

she said. "The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last."

Choking up with tears, May continued: "I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love."

The reaction of world and opinion leaders

Theresa May's resignation may have made a no deal Brexit impossible to stop, Spain has warned.

Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa said that a cliff-edge exit now appeared inevitable unless a new PM can pass a deal by October 31.

'Under these circumstances, a hard Brexit appears to be a reality that is near impossible to stop', she said, adding that the withdrawal deal agreed by Mrs. May was now unlikely to get through Parliament.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Brussels would not renegotiate the exit deal with Britain while France said a new PM would have to explain quickly what they wanted.

Dutch premier Mark Rutte (pictured voting in The Hague in the European elections) said the Brexit withdrawal deal would not be renegotiated with a new British PM

'The withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation,' Rutte told a news conference in The Hague, adding that 'the problem was not Theresa May' but Britain's strict red lines for any deal.

'I phoned her at once this morning, I told her that I thought what she did in the past years was brave and that she worked under incredibly difficult circumstances to deliver a Brexit,' he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron sent Mrs May a 'personal message of support', praising her for a 'courageous effort' in trying to pass a deal.

But Paris said the new British leader would have to provide a 'rapid clarification' of their Brexit strategy.

'Our relations with the United Kingdom are critical in all areas. It is too early to speculate on the consequences of May's decision,' Macron's office said.

Macron's 2017 election opponent Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, claimed Mrs May had to go 'because she tried to bypass the will expressed by the British in the Brexit referendum'.

There were also calls from the Czech prime minister for Britain to hold a second referendum and stay in the EU.

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured in Paris) said Britain had to provide a 'rapid clarification' of what it wanted on Brexit

Andrej Babis said he hoped British voters would 'finally understand that the misinformation that that they received [about Brexit] is not true'.

He praised the UK as one of the best allies of his country in the bloc because 'it's a big state that counterbalances the dominance of Germany and France.'

German chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) said she had worked well with Theresa May but 'respected' the British PM's decision to quit Berlin would do everything possible to ensure a good partnership with Britain and an orderly Brexit 'regardless of this development', she said, calling Brexit a 'deep rupture'.

Manfred Weber, an ally of Merkel and the centre-right's lead candidate for European Commission chief after the European elections, said Brexit was a 'total disaster' but Mrs May 'fought for a stable solution and a viable deal'.

In a message to her successor he said: 'We hope once more for a constructive approach from our British partners.

'I appeal to the UK's sense of responsibility and leadership in these times of great uncertainty.'

In Ireland, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was 'sorry to hear' about the PM's resignation, but warned the Tory succession could herald a 'very dangerous' phase for his country.

'In the next couple of months we may see the election of a Eurosceptic prime minister who wants to repudiate the Withdrawal Agreement and go for a no-deal,' he said.

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz praised Theresa May as a 'principled' leader and voiced the hope that her successor will 'see to an orderly Brexit'

'Or we may even see a new British Government that wants a close relationship with the EU and goes for a second referendum.

'Whatever happens we are going to hold our nerve, we are going to continue to build and strengthen and deepen our alliance across the European Union, and we will make sure we see Ireland through this.'

His foreign minister Simon Coveney said the EU was unlikely to offer a better deal to Mrs May's successor.

'From my perspective, I don't see the European Union offering any new prime minister a better or very different deal to what was on offer to Theresa May,' 'This idea that a new prime minister will be a tougher negotiator and will put it up to the EU and get a much better deal for Britain? That's not how the EU works.'

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said Mrs May's resignation could signal a 'very dangerous' phase for his country, he was 'sorry to hear' of Theresa May's resignation and thanked her for her efforts on Brexit

A European Commission spokeswoman said its president Jean-Claude Juncker had 'followed Prime Minister May's announcement this morning without personal joy'.

'The president very much liked and appreciated working with Prime Minister May, and has said before Theresa May is a woman of courage for whom he has great respect,' the spokeswoman said.

'He will equally respect and establish working relations with any new prime minister, whomever they may be, without stopping his conversations with Prime Minister May.

'Our position on the Withdrawal Agreement has been set out by my colleague yesterday. There is no change to that. 'The European Commission and the Article 50 format has set out its position and we remain available for anyone who will be the new prime minister.'

EU negotiator Michel Barnier offered his 'full respect' to the outgoing PM, thanking her for her 'determination in working towards the UK's orderly withdrawal'.

'What could happen now, let me just clearly say here in Brussels that it is for the UK to decide. Nobody else,' he said.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (pictured) said it was 'for the UK to decide' what happens next after Theresa May's resignation

Many world newspapers led with images of Theresa May breaking down with emotion as she quit. Here, the website of German tabloid Bild simply declares 'Theresa May: Resignation' and quotes her regret that she could not get Brexit over the line

There was little warmth from Russia, where Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Mrs May's tenure had been a 'difficult period in our bilateral relations'.

Anglo-Russian relations fell to their lowest ebb in decades after former spy Sergei Skripal was poisoned in Salisbury last year.

Dutch leader Mark Rutte said he had given Mrs May his 'thanks and respect' and said the withdrawal deal she negotiated remained on the table.

In Austria, chancellor Sebastian Kurz - who is facing a wave of domestic pressure himself - said Mrs May was a 'principled and head-strong politician'.

'I wish her well. I hope that despite her announcement, reason will prevail in the UK and her successor will see to an orderly Brexit,' he said.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said: 'In spite of our differences Theresa May showed an openness of mind to resolve Brexit for UK and EU. I want to thank her for her resolve and cooperation.'

German broadsheet newspaper Die Welt said that Mrs May had resigned 'with a cracking voice', explaining that she had failed to get her Brexit deal through Parliament

Czech leader Andrej Babis said he hoped Britain might hold a second referendum and vote to remain in the EU after all French broadcaster TV5 Monde said that the 'unbreakable woman has just given way' after Mrs May withstood months of pressure before finally resigning

There was no immediate response from the White House where it was very early in the morning when Mrs May made her Downing Street statement.

Democratic congressman Brendan Boyle said he wished Mrs May well and said it was 'imperative that her successor does nothing to risk the Good Friday Agreement' in Northern Ireland.

A rare piece of high praise came from Gibraltar, where the British territory's chief minister Fabian Picardo said: 'Thank you Prime Minister for a job well done against impossible odds'.

When many others would have been cowed by the impossible odds, the daunting headlines and the impenetrable politics of Brexit, she has ploughed on without complaint,' he said.

'And when it came to Gibraltar, she was steadfast in our defence and rock solid in her resolve that we would be included in any Withdrawal Agreement that she might finally propose.'

'History will judge you more warmly and positively than today's fickle headlines.'

The New York Times said Theresa May had been 'undone by Brexit' as her tumultuous three-year premiership comes to a close

Meanwhile Indian leader Narendra Modi sent a curiously-timed tweet, promising to work with Britain after his own re-election, only shortly after Mrs May had resigned.

Many foreign news websites led with the striking image of Mrs May breaking down in tears as her premiership finally crumbled.

German national newspaper Die Welt ran with the headline: 'With a cracking voice, May announces her resignation'.

The New York Times said Britain's PM had been 'undone by Brexit', predicting a 'vicious contest to succeed her within the Conservative party'.

France's TV5 Monde had a more poetic headline, saying: 'The unbreakable woman has just given way'.

Der Spiegel in Germany said she had been 'overcome by emotion', saying she had been 'massively under pressure from all sides'.