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UK Prime Minister Theresa May has set the date for leaving office as late August 2019, asking fellow party members not to contest her position until Brexit is over, media reported Sunday.
"It’s clear she [May] won't lead us into another election and will be gone by September 2019," an unnamed Conservative member of the British parliament told The Mirror newspaper.
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| Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: Getty. |
According to the news outlet, the incumbent prime minister will resign on August 30, 2019, after a new party leader is announced. It is expected that the new cabinet head will be presented to the members of parliament on September 3 of that year.
In the meantime, May is holding private meetings with her fellow Conservative party members at Chequers, the official countryside residence of UK prime ministers. At the meetings, she is reportedly urging lawmakers to halt the campaign to contest her leadership until Brexit is over in March 2019.
Several weeks earlier, media reported that at least 15 Conservative members of the UK parliament agreed to sign a letter of no confidence in May. Another 48 signatures will set off a leadership contest within the party, which might force May step down.
On June 23, 2016 the United Kingdom held a referendum on whether to leave the European Union. The affirmative vote thus triggered pro-EU Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation. May assumed office in July 2016, vowing to see the country through the "divorce" process. The EU-UK split is expected to be effectuated by late March 2019.
