BREXIT EXIT
When is Theresa May officially stepping down as PM and will she still be a MP?
THE new leader of the Tory party as of July 23 is Boris Johnson, taking over from Theresa May who resigned after she failed to deliver the UK's exit from the EU.
Here's what we know about her resignation, and what she will do now...
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When and why did she resign as Prime Minister?
Theresa May announced her resignation on May 24, 2019.
The departing PM met US President Donald Trump during his state visit to the UK in the final days before she stepped down.
As Mrs May told the nation she would no longer lead the country, she added: "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."
Will Theresa May remain an MP after she resigns?
Theresa May has spoken at length about her loyalty to her constituency and told MPs on June 10 that she is planning to stay on as MP for Maidenhead as she resigns as British Prime Minister.
“I will indeed be staying in the chamber of the House of Commons because I will continue as the member of Parliament for my constituency.”
She said she would stay on as a backbencher, having been an MP since 1997.
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What is Theresa May's stance on Brexit?
May supported the UK remaining in the EU during the referendum campaign but was not a prominent campaigner.
Her entire premiership has been devoted to ensuring Britain has a smooth departure from the EU - but it's been a rocky road.
She survived two direct threats to her leadership, one from within her Conservative Party, and one brought by opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who tried but failed to force a general election.
In November 2018, the EU's 27 other countries gave their backing to her Brexit plan at a special summit in Brussels.
It came after a number of cabinet resignations and calls for her to quit.
The PM vowed to push "with every fibre of my being" hours after she pulled the trigger on a Brexiteer rebellion led by Jacob Rees-Mogg which could spark a leadership challenge
After the deal was approved by the EU, she made a direct appeal to the public in a letter to the nation.
In her letter Mrs May said: “I will be fighting campaigning with my heart and soul to win that vote and deliver this Brexit deal for the good of the UK and all of our people.”
But on December 10, 2018, Mrs May cancelled the vote at the eleventh hour after realising she was sure of certain defeat.
The chaotic Brexit negotiations led to her own D-Day two days later, when a critical number of MPs submitted votes of no confidence.
On the night of December 12, an anonymous vote saw 200 Conservative MPs vote for her to stay, against 117 who voted for her to be ousted.
MPs rejected her Brexit deal for a second time - resulting in further instability at Westminster, and putting her political future in doubt.
For most of her own MPs, the last straw came when she agreed to delay Brexit following the third defeat of her deal in the Commons.
She wanted to give her deal a last push - but instead MPs made it clear she should go as soon as possible.
When is Theresa May officially stepping down as PM?
Mrs May remained in office until a new party leader was chosen - who is then the default new Prime Minister.
The race between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to be Tory leader and next PM is in its closing stages after the pair took part in two head-to-heads, at The Sun HQ in London, and during a debate on ITV.
The new Tory leader, and Prime Minister, was announced on Tuesday, July 23.
About 160,000 Conservative members have until Monday, July 22, to vote by postal ballot on who will replace Mrs May, with Mr Johnson the current frontrunner.
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Theresa May in the House of Commons
How did May handle Brexit?
Mrs May's plan was defeated three times in the House of Commons — but she was still desperately trying to save her legacy by getting her deal passed.
Cabinet ministers threatened to bring down the Government if the PM didn't abandon her attempts to force through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
She wanted her legacy to be taking Britain out of the bloc, before turning to the "burning injustices" of UK society.
Her last-ditch bid to save the Brexit deal by offering MPs a vote on whether to hold a second referendum proved the last nail in her coffin, triggering a Cabinet rebellion with Andrea Leadsom resigning. Here's a recap:
On July 6, 2018, Mrs May revealed a strategy at Chequers which if successful will ensure the UK will remain closely tied to Brussels even after we leave.
The PM had also outlined her plans for a new UK-EU free trade area for goods, with a "common rulebook" - but we won't have any say in them.
This so-called Chequers plan directly led to the resignations of both Boris Johnson and David Davis.
The Prime Minister struck a compromised divorce agreement with EU leaders on November 13, 2018.
On November 14, Mrs May hailed her soft Brexit deal as “in the national interest” after winning the backing of her divided Cabinet following a tense five-hour meeting.
Theresa May is lobbying Labour MPs to back her deal in a sign she's given up on winning over rebel Tories, it was reported on November 26.
It was thought that 11 ministers, including Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, objected to the plan before eventually going along with it.
But both Brexiteers and Remainers described it as the “worst of all worlds”.
On December 4 Theresa May lost a crucial Commons vote by 311 to 293 over her refusal to publish the full legal advice on her EU deal.
The Government became the first to be found in contempt of Parliament in a constitutional stand-off.
The “contempt” motion is not known to have been passed against a sitting Government in Parliament’s 700 years of existence.
The PM would go on to have her bill defeat two more times.
In a humiliating summit for the PM, EU leaders said Britain could postpone Brexit until October 31.
Mrs May tried to hold cross-party talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but those collapsed.
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What will she do now?
Mrs May will become acting leader while the race begins to find her replacement - with Boris Johnson the current favourite.
However, she will remain as PM until that happens, likely to be until the end of July.
She plans to stay as MP for Maidenhead until the next election scheduled for 2022.
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