After a decisive vote by the Conservative party, British home secretary Theresa May will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom; the first woman elected to the position in 26 years.
Cameron leaves after Brexit vote
The announcement of May’s arrival to the position comes after a press conference in which British PMDavid Cameron announced that he would be officially resigning and making way for the new leader on Wednesday, coming after Cameron’s stinging defeat as the face of the Remain campaign throughoutBritain’s contentious Brexit vote in late June.
After the Brexit vote, Cameron announced that he would be stepping down as PM, and began the process of finding a new Conservative Party leader. In the most recent and deciding vote, Home Secretary Theresa May beat out her challenger, Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom, becoming the new Conservative Party leader and subsequent new Prime Minister.
Theresa May and her 19-year political history
May, 59, began her life in politics in 1997 when she was elected to Parliament for her home district of Maidenshead, going on from there to become the British Home Secretary in Cameron’s administration in 2010. While there, May focused on issues of crime and police policy, as well as immigration. While she was a Remain supporter in the Brexit campaign, May remained quiet on the topic, choosing instead to openly support David Cameron instead of the Remain campaign itself.
May is not the first woman politician to become Prime Minister
May's ascent to the position of Prime Minister makes her the first woman in 26 years to hold the position and the second woman in history to do the same.She follows the lead of former British prime minister MargaretThatcher(also a Conservative Party leader), who was elected to her position in 1979 and served for 11 years.
Both have been called 'formidable' politicians, and have had strong policy positions with experience to back those claims up.
David Cameron will remain as British Prime Minister until July 13th, when he will officially step down and May will gain approval from Queen Elizabeth II to step into the position.
