This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/may/24/theresa-may-resignation-uk-prime-minister-politics-brexit-live-news

The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Theresa May expected to announce her resignation – live news Theresa May says she will quit as Tory leader on 7 June – live news
(about 1 hour later)
This is an interesting thread from the Guardian’s Paris bureau chief, Angelique Chrisafis, who visited the north west to write this piece about the fallout from the Brexit chaos from a European perspective. “No idea how this all ends,” she concludes. Jeremy Corbyn has said Theresa May was right to resign and has called for an immediate general election.
Went back to north west England to look at political fallout from Brexit chaos from European view Some things I noticed - Britain has a level of disillusionment with the political system that is greater than in almost all other EU countries & growing 1/https://t.co/JP5jpI9E7n The Prime Minister is right to have resigned. She has now accepted what the country has known for months: she cannot govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party.
For a long time, Europe saw Britain as an exception to rise of the populism, without big movements based on the 'people versus the corrupt elite' Three years on from Leave vote, Brexit Party shows that's changing 2/ The burning injustices she promised to tackle three years ago are even starker today.
Brexit Party studied Italy's Five-Star. One activist: “Why reinvent the wheel?”But campaign message simple, positive & detoxed. “Protect democracy”. Without referencing immigrationSlick online campaign, well-organised local activists keen to aim for Westminster 3/ The Conservative Party has utterly failed the country over Brexit and is unable to improve people’s lives or deal with their most pressing needs.
Brexit Party supporters felt bullied & ignoredUK's milkshake issue took on bigger proportions than election food-throwing elsewhere in EU – where Macron has been egged in the head, others hit with flour, cream-pies, ketchup, or in Italy eggs and tomatoes, considered standard 4/ Parliament is deadlocked and the Conservatives offer no solutions to the other major challenges facing our country.
Today is likely to be a good day for Jacob Rees-Mogg The last thing the country needs is weeks of more Conservative infighting followed by yet another unelected Prime Minister.
It’s Jacob Rees-Mogg’s birthday today... Whoever becomes the new Conservative Leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election.
My colleague Peter Walker has put together this helpful list of the runners and riders for the Conservative party leadership. Business leaders have expressed fears that the Tory leadership is going to prolong the uncertainty and deter investments decision.
Tory leadership: the runners and riders “Westminster has already squandered far too much time going around in circles on Brexit,” said Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
Here are the top four – He warned that “drift and lack of direction” had real consequences that were not headline-grabbing closures of big business but by “the quiet and growing loss of contracts, investments and jobs”
Boris Johnson “The UK is already paying the price for a political system at war over Brexit. Our hard-earned reputation as a great place to do business has been tarnished. And for too long, government has been distracted from working with business to fix the fundamentals here at home, particularly around skills and infrastructure.
The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots – polling for the Times showed he is the first choice of 39% of them, with Dominic Raab trailing him on 13% – that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate. “Any leadership contest must be swift and followed urgently by a clear plan to break the impasse. The clock is still ticking down to 31st October, regardless of who is in Downing Street. A new Prime Minister must work to avert a messy and disorderly exit from the EU. At the same time, preparations must continue to ensure that government, its agencies and our communities are as ready as they can be for all possible eventualities.”
Odds: 6/4 favourite Tributes from May’s cabinet colleagues –
Dominic Raab Incredibly moving and dignified speech from the Prime Minister. She has given all in service of her country. Thank you Theresa.
Few things say “would-be leader in waiting” like a kitchen photoshoot with your spouse, and the former Brexit secretary duly obliged with this imageawash with tasteful pastel hues. I want to pay tribute to the PM today. Delivering Brexit was always going to be a huge task, but one she met every day with courage & resolve. NHS will have an extra £20bn thanks to her support, and she leaves the country safer and more secure. A true public servant.
Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed. The Prime Minister has shown great courage.She is a public servant who did all she could to bring Brexit to a resolution. Her sense of duty is something everyone should admire and aspire to.
Odds: 4/1 Tributes are pouring in for May. These from the Tory leadership front-runners.
Jeremy Hunt A very dignified statement from @theresa_may. Thank you for your stoical service to our country and the Conservative Party. It is now time to follow her urgings: to come together and deliver Brexit.
Fears that the foreign secretary would be another overly woolly compromise choice – “Theresa in trousers”, to use the critics’ phrase – were hardly assuaged when after a set-piece speech, he seemed unable to outline why his brand of Conservatism might appeal to voters. Dignified as ever, @theresa_may showed her integrity. She remains a dedicated public servant, patriot and loyal Conservative. https://t.co/2YjBp0x8HM
Odds: 10/1 The Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, has called on Tory leadership candidates to “show that same level of commitment to Scotland’s place in the union” that Theresa May has done, as she praised the outgoing prime minister’s “quiet dignity and resilience”.
Michael Gove Davidson said: “The prime minister has always put country before party and, by announcing her resignation and setting out a plan for an orderly departure, she has shown that commitment again today.
The environment secretary has not done anything specific to merit his place in the decliners list, but that is perhaps the point – he has not done very much at all to cement his place in the hearts of Tory MPs. “Theresa May knew when she took on the job of prime minister that the challenges facing our country were unprecedented.
Robust Brexiters in particular dislike the fact he has stayed loyal even in the final days of the crumbling May regime. “Her time in office has been characterised by the hard work, resilience, quiet dignity and attention to detail for which she is known.
Not the resignation we’ve been waiting for ... “Above all, by opposing the SNP’s call for an immediate second independence referendum in 2017, the prime minister demonstrated her resolute commitment to the union, and to Scotland’s place in it.
It is with regret that I have today resigned as @Conservatives Vice Chair for Communities. Now is the time for new leadership to deliver Brexit and unite our Party and our Country. pic.twitter.com/vNzRi0MYTK “As Britain’s second female prime minister, she has been a role model for girls and women across the United Kingdom, showing that there is no glass ceiling to their ambitions.
Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone and the Weald, has announced her resignation on Twitter. She says: “On behalf of everyone in the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party I would like to thank her for her years of service as an MP, party chairman, secretary of state, and prime minister.
Regrettably, I must now give notice of my resignation because I wish to actively and openly support one of the new leadership candidates and would not want there to be any perception of a conflict between the candidate’s campaign and my role at CCHQ. “The party will now elect a new leader over the coming weeks.
Here are some pictures of May arriving at 10 Downing Street with her husband, Philip. “As leader of the Scottish Conservatives, I want to see candidates show that same level of commitment to Scotland’s place in the union, an ability to advance our interests at home and abroad and, crucially, demonstrate how they intend to bring our country back together after the divisions sown by two constitutional referenda.”
We’ve got a bit more of this morning’s timings. Sky News reports that May will meet Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, at 9am and make a statement afterwards. Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s taoiseach, has paid tribute to May, describing her as “principled and honourable”.
NEW: Told that May will meet with Sir Graham Brady at 9am this morning. Understand PM will make the announcement afterwards. More on @SkyNews now I got to know Theresa May very well over the last two years. She is principled, honourable, and deeply passionate about doing her best for her country, and her party. Politicians throughout the EU have admired her tenacity, her courage, and her determination during what has been a difficult and challenging time.
Here’s a reminder of what Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee, said yesterday. Theresa May strove to chart a new future for the United Kingdom. I want to wish her the very best for the future. And I look forward to working closely with her successor.
I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow. Here is Theresa May’s full resignation statement.
Asked what would happen if the PM did not announce a resignation date, Clifton-Brown said: Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone. And to honour the result of the EU referendum.Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union.
I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the prime minister. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide.I have done my best to do that. I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbours that protects jobs, our security and our Union. I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so.
We can expect more tweets like this (from the BBC’s political editor) this morning. Every move the prime minister makes will be scrutinised. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. 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.
PM has just arrived back in Downing Street So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen. I have agreed with the Party Chairman and with the Chairman of the 1922 Committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week. I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions, and I will continue to serve as her Prime Minister until the process has concluded.
Still expecting her to go see Sir Graham Brady first then make a statement about her future It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit. It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise.
Ken Clarke – at 78 years old, the father of the House of Commons – has been speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He said the majority of Conservative MPs did not vote Conservative in yesterday’s European parliament elections. For many years the great humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton – who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport – was my constituent in Maidenhead. At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice. He said, ‘Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise.’ He was right.
He denied that Boris Johnson was a shoo-in for the leadership, but admitted the Conservative party was in for a chaotic few weeks. “The European Research Group – the right wing of my party – have finally got their woman,” he said. “They’ve been trying to get rid of her for the past few months. They seem to imagine that the party will now unite behind the one of them that most resembles Nigel Farage. I don’t think it’s going to be like that.” As we strive to find the compromises we need in our politics – whether to deliver Brexit, or to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland – we must remember what brought us here. Because the referendum was not just a call to leave the EU but for profound change in our country. A call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years.
Former Middle East minister Alistair Burt told the programme earlier that he could vote for Boris Johnson to take over from May. We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started: the deficit is almost eliminated, our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity. My focus has been on ensuring that the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and the South East, through our Modern Industrial Strategy.
When asked whether he could back Johnson, he said: “The answer to the question for almost all the candidates is yes. I would find it very difficult to support a candidate who said it was in Britain’s best interest to leave with no deal, leave straight away, WTO … I don’t expect any candidate really to say that.” We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job. We are building more homes and helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder - so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did. And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change and improving air quality. This is what a decent, moderate and patriotic Conservative Government, on the common ground of British politics, can achieve - even as we tackle the biggest peacetime challenge any government has faced.
Damian Green, former first secretary of state, has been singing May’s praises. “All prime ministers, in the end, take responsibility for what happens on their watch, but I think that it’s undeniable that suddenly and unexpectedly becoming prime minister after the seismic shock of the Brexit referendum meant that she was dealt an extremely difficult hand to play. And the truth is that having an election a year later, which cut the Conservative party’s majority, then [made it] impossible.” I know that the Conservative Party can renew itself in the years ahead. That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our values. Security; freedom; opportunity. Those values have guided me throughout my career.
He added: “The fact that parliament has not been able to get a Brexit deal through has led to the impatience, bordering into contempt, for the political class and the amount of hostility and borderline violence is something we have not known for a very very long time.” But the unique privilege of this office is to use this platform to give a voice to the voiceless, to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society. That is why I put proper funding for mental health at the heart of our NHS long-term plan. It is why I am ending the postcode lottery for survivors of domestic abuse. It is why the Race Disparity Audit and gender pay reporting are shining a light on inequality, so it has nowhere to hide. And that is why I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth, so nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.
Asked whether May’s personality had made her unsuitable to be prime minister, he said: “Prime ministers come with all forms of personality. Perhaps inevitably people are concentrating on the downsides, but we have to remember the extraordinary sense of public service and, actually, in an era when political discourse has become so poisonous and vicious, she was always courteous and polite.” Because this country is a Union.Not just a family of four nations. But a union of people – all of us. Whatever our background, the colour of our skin, or who we love. We stand together. And together we have a great future.
Ukip deputy leader Mike Hookem has quit and will run for party leader. Our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about. I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold – the second female Prime Minister but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill-will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.
This is from the Press Association – Nicola Sturgeon has reacted to May’s resignation. She says May deserves thanks for her service and calls for a general election.
Hookem said he could no longer support the direction of party leader Gerard Batten and wanted to offer “a real alternative” to his leadership that would “consolidate and rebuild our party”. 1. I wish Theresa May well. She and I had profound disagreements - not least on her handling of Brexit and her disregard for Scotland’s interests. However, leadership is tough - especially in these times - and she deserves thanks for her service.
Batten has already said he will stand down on 2 June, launching a leadership contest. I wish Theresa May well. She and I had profound disagreements – not least on her handling of Brexit and her disregard for Scotland’s interests. However, leadership is tough – especially in these times – and she deserves thanks for her service.
In a letter sent to party officials at the close of polls in the European elections, Hookem said: “I believe Ukip always has been and always should be a libertarian party that encourages and promotes common-sense policies with a broad electoral appeal. Her departure will not solve the Brexit mess that the Tories have created. Only putting the matter back to the people can do that. Given current circumstances, it also feels deeply wrong for another Tory to be installed in Number 10 without a General Election.
“However, under Mr Batten’s leadership, and despite my appeals, Ukip has been derailed from this objective. Mr Batten’s policy direction and associations have given the mainstream media the ammunition to label our party ‘extreme’ and ‘far-right’, accusations I do not believe to be true.” The prospect of an even more hardline Brexiteer now becoming PM and threatening a no deal exit is deeply concerning. Added to the experience of the past three years, this makes it all the more important that Scotland is given the choice of becoming an independent country.
Batten has been Ukip leader for 16 months and appointed former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson as his political adviser in November 2018. Here are some key passages from May’s resignation speech –
Hookem, an MEP who stood for re-election this week, said Brexit had been a “golden opportunity for Ukip”, which was led by Nigel Farage before he stepped down in 2016. Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice, against all predictions the British people voted to leave the european union. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that... I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly I have not been able to do so. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere even when the odds against success seemed high. but is is now clear t me that it is n the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort.
He said Batten had “squandered our natural advantage and seriously undermined 26 years of work in the process”. It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret for me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit. It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in parliament where I did not. Such a consensus will only be reached if those on both sides of the debate are willing to compromise.
There is one clear frontrunner in the Conservative party leadership race: Boris Johnson. Today’s Today in Focus podcast looks at the prospect of Prime Minister Johnson. She quoted Sir Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who organised the Czech Kindertransport: “Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise.”
The end of May: are we headed for Boris Johnson as prime minister? I know that the Conservative party can renew itself in the years ahead. That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our vales.
Andrew Sparrow put together this helpful bit of analysis yesterday, explaining May’s options. The most widely reported scenario this morning is that May will announce that a Conservative leadership election will kick off on 10 June, after Donald Trump’s state visit, and that she will stay on as prime minister until a successor has been selected. Our politics may be under strain but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about. I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life. The second female prime minister but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.
Andy wrote: To place the current events in context, you need to recall that we have already had three resignation-related announcements from May already. And there you have it. May will resign as leader of the Conservative party on 7 June and the process to select a new leader will start the following week. So, she will be the prime minister that welcomes Donald Trump on 3 June. I’ll post some key quotes from her speech shortly.
1) In December last year May announced that she would resign before the general election due in 2022. She made the promise to Tories in private to help boost her chances in a no-confidence ballot, which she subsequently won. Whether she would resign ahead of the election if it took place before 2022 was left unresolved. “Our politics may be under strain but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.”
2) In March May announced that she would resign before the next phase of the Brexit negotiation started. She delivered the pledge, again at a private meeting of Tory MPs, ahead of the third vote on her Brexit deal. It was taken to mean she would go by the summer, assuming her deal was passed. What would happen if her deal was not passed was left unresolved, although subsequently the Conservative 1922 Committee said she needed to clarify this. May says it has been “the honour of my life” to be the “second female prime minister, but certainly not the last”.
3) Last week, at her meeting with the executive of the 1922 Committee, May agreed to set a date for her departure after the second reading of the EU withdrawal agreement bill (Wab), which at that point the government was saying would take place on Friday 7 June at the latest. She did not say what the date would be, but the implication was that it would be soon after that 7 June deadline. Her voice cracks as she says it has been an honour to have the opportunity to serve the country she loves.
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s politics live blog, on what could be a pretty big day for British politics. She says she knows the Conservative party will serve people in the years ahead. She says the importance of the office of prime minister is to fight “burning injustice”, the phrase she used at the beginning of her premiership.
Theresa May is expected to announce today that she will resign as Conservative leader and set a date for her departure from 10 Downing Street. Her cabinet colleagues – Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt among them – are said to have told her they could not support her withdrawal agreement bill offering a vote on a temporary customs union and second referendum.
As the Guardian reports this morning:
May’s allies believe she will promise to step down as leader by 10 June after the state visit of US president Donald Trump and then stay on as prime minister until her successor has been chosen.
A Downing Street source said she is expected to name a date for her resignation at a meeting with Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, on Friday morning, while staying on as prime minister for the duration of a leadership contest. “But everything remains quite fluid,” the source said.
If May does not announce a date for her resignation today and tries to cling to power (as she has done before), the 1922 Committee could open a sealed envelope containing the results of a ballot on whether to hold another vote of no confidence in her leadership.
We’ll have all the latest news here throughout the day. You can get me on Twitter on @fperraudin.