MAY TAKES OVER IN UK
Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Theresa May, left, at Buckingham Palace in London. May replaces David Cameron as Britain’s prime minister, assuming responsibility for the task of beginning a complex divorce from the European Union.
LONDON: Theresa May, the daughter of a vicar with the reputation of a tough, no-nonsense politician, took over as Britain’s prime minister on Wednesday, tasked with extricating the country from the European Union following the contentious June 23 referendum.
May, 59, is the second woman prime minister in British history after Margaret Thatcher’s tenure from 1979 to 1990.
She replaced David Cameron, whose second term in 10, Downing Street was cut short after the “Remain in EU” camp he led lost in the referendum.
Harping on the mantra of “Brexit means Brexit”, May emerged victorious in a five-cornered contest to replace Cameron. She announced the creation of a separate Brexit department to deal with two-year negotiations with Brussels under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to exit the European Union.
May, who was in the Remain camp, is expected to appoint a leading light of the Brexit camp to head the department.
The MP from Maidenhead was the longest serving secretary in a century in the Home Office, seen as the graveyard of political careers.
Cameron, who tendered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham Palace after six years in office, was given a standing ovation at his last Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons earlier in the day.