Theresa May set to be next British PM

LONDON: Theresa May, the tough-talking Oxford-educated home secretary, will take over as Britain’s next prime minister on Wednesday after a leadership contest was

LONDON: Theresa May, the tough-talking Oxford-educated home secretary, will take over as Britain’s next prime minister on Wednesday after a leadership contest was cut short on Monday when rival Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the race amid controversies.

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May, 59, launched her campaign for leadership of the Conservative Party in Birmingham, but Leadsom announced her withdrawal from the race soon after in London.

Also on Monday, Angela Eagle announced her leadership bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the Labour Party leader.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he would chair his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday and appear at his last Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Common son Wednesday afternoon. Thereafter, he will go to Buckingham Palace to resign, paving the way for May’ s installation in 10, Downing Street, by Wednesday evening.

British politics has been in turmoil since the June 23 vote to exit the European Union, which resulted in Cameron’s resignation. His replacement was to be announced on September 9, but the process was expedited by Leadsom’s withdrawal.

Labour and Liberal Democrats demanded a mid-term election to settle several issues, including giving voters another chance to vote on the issue of Brexit. Besides a legal challenge, there is a demand that parliament should have the final say on Brexit.

Jon Trickett, Labour’s election coordinator, said: “It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected prime minister. I am now putting the whole of the party on a general election footing.”

Leadsom’s withdrawal came after she faced abuse over the weekend for her comments to The Times that she had a better claim to prime ministership because she was a mother, unlike May, who does not have children.