Theresa May announced on Friday that she would resign on June 7 after a turbulent week for the Prime Minister which saw a resignation from her Government and many of her own MPs demanding she stands down. US President, Donald Trump, who is scheduled to travel to the UK in the first week of June for an official state visit, claimed her decision is for the “good of her country”. Mr Trump added that he “felt bad” for Mrs May, insisting “she is a good woman”.
He said: “I feel badly for Theresa, I like her very much, she is a good woman.
“She worked very hard. She is very strong.
“She decided to do something that some people were surprised at, some people were not. It is for the good of her country.
“But, I like her very much. In fact, I will be seeing her in two weeks.”
The Prime Minister ended her resignation speech nearly in tears as she spoke about the country “I love”.
Mrs May began tearing up and her voice broke as she ended her speech and said: “I will shortly leave that has been the honour of my life to hold. The second female prime minister but certainly not the last.”
Before walking off, Mrs May added: “I do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”
During her speech on Friday morning, Mrs May also said: “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. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere, even where 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.
“So I am today announcing that I will resign as the 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.
“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.”
READ MORE: Theresa May’s resignation speech – IN FULL
The decision will spark a leadership contest within the Conservative Party with favourite Boris Johnson, likely to stand against a number of colleagues, including current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and International Development Rory Stewart, in a bid to take the country forward.
MPs including former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, former Worker and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, former leader of the House Andrea Leadsom, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, former Brexit secretary Steve Baker, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, deputy chairman of the Tory party James Cleverly and the prime minister’s de facto deputy David Lidington, are also hotly tipped to enter the race for the leadership.
On Friday Mr Johnson said that he would like to take over as Prime Minister, just hours after Mrs May announced she was stepping down.
Mr Johnson told an economic 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.”
He later added: “The job of our next leader has to be getting the UK properly out of the EU, putting Brexit to bed.”
Along with Mr Johnson, Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt also confirmed he would run for leadership of the Conservative Party.
Mr Hunt said it was “only right that my party constituency should be the first to know”, the Farnham Herald reported him as saying at the Haslemere Festival in southern England.
