May quits as party leader

British Prime Minister Theresa May steps down as leader of her Conservative Party yesterday, formally triggering the race for a successor who will try where she failed to deliver Brexit.

May will remain prime minister until a new leader is chosen, likely in late July, but will make no further moves on Britain’s tortuous departure from the European Union.

Brexit is still scheduled for October 31 but while the contenders thrash it out over the leadership, the project remains stalled, with the only divorce plan agreed with Brussels rejected in parliament.

May took office after the shock 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU and has spent the past three years working on a departure plan, delaying Brexit twice to try to get the deal through.

But she finally acknowledged defeat in a tearful resignation speech last month, the culmination of months of political turmoil that had slowly sapped her authority.

Eleven Conservative MPs have declared their intention to stand to replace her, including former foreign minister Boris Johnson, but some are expected to drop out before Monday’s deadline for nominations.

The winner will have only a few months to decide whether to try to salvage May’s plan, delay Brexit again -- or sever ties with Britain’s closest trading partner with no agreement at all.

Leadership contest frontrunner Johnson warned that the centre-right Conservatives “must deliver Brexit by October 31 or we risk Brexit Party votes delivering Corbyn to No 10”, referring to leftist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn getting into Downing Street.

Johnson cleared one hurdle yesterday by fending off a legal action brought by a citizen who accuses him of misconduct in public office for making misleading statements during the 2016 campaign about how much money Britain sends to the EU.

Nominations for the Conservative leadership contest open and close on Monday, and the 313 Conservative MPs -- including May -- will hold the first of a series of secret ballots on Thursday.

With the worst performers eliminated each time, the goal is to have two candidates left by June 20. They will then be put to a ballot of an estimated 100,000 party members.

The contest should be completed in the week commencing July 22.