“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” May, her voice breaking with emotion, said in a statement outside her Downing Street residence. “I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back the deal ... sadly I have not been able to do so.”
She further said “our politics may be strained, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.” She tearfully acknowledged that it had been a privilege to serve the country she loves, and that she will not be the last female PM of Britain.
The resignation will signal the formal start of a leadership contest during which May would remain as caretaker prime minister.
“The process for electing a new leadership should begin in the following week,” she said.
The leadership race is expected to take several weeks.
