Stepping Down: Theresa May to officially leave Conservative leader post Friday

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Europe

02:55

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will formally resign as leader of the Conservative Party on Friday. Speculation is swirling over who will replace her after repeated failures to win support for her Brexit plan. Richard Bestic has more from London.

Theresa May won the leadership of Britain's ruling Conservatives when the other candidates dropped out. So, unopposed she took on the leader's role with a simple message.

THERESA MAY UK PRIME MINISTER "Brexit means Brexit."

Words with hindsight possibly suggesting a limited understanding of Brexit's complexities. And so it was the daughter of a countryside vicar who swept into Downing Street armed with a strong sense of public duty and virtuous plans to help the less well-off.

In the three years that followed, it was to be a losing battle with Brexit that dominated her every waking hour. She got the top job when predecessor David Cameron quit after calling and then losing a Brexit Referendum in the summer of 2016.

DAVID CAMERON FORMER UK PRIME MINISTER "I think the country requires fresh leadership."

He left behind a country split down the middle, little over half actually supporting Brexit. On the streets, opinions hardened and May failed to calm what became the most divisive issue in Britain's modern history.

THERESA MAY UK PRIME MINISTER "Actually, we want a red white and blue Brexit."

May called a snap General Election in the hope of shoring up her Parliamentary majority. A gamble that proved a disaster, her position badly weakened. She'd travelled to Europe to explain, finally cutting a deal with Brussels. When May took her compromise Brexit to Parliament, it broke the records for a big fat "no." Resolute or obstinate - take your choice – she tried twice more and twice more failed.

"Nos to the left."

The tipping point, results of the European Parliamentary elections – elections that should never have happened in the UK if May had delivered.

THERESA MAY UK PRIME MINISTER "To serve the country that I love."

Her Party crushed at the polls and staring oblivion in the face. Even May tearfully conceded, it was time to go.

RICHARD BESTIC LONDON "Theresa May's legacy, her failure to deliver Brexit. She'll remain on here at 10 Downing Street as a caretaker Prime Minister, until a new leader can be found. And therein lies the big question: Can any of her tough-talking potential successors deliver Brexit, without doing serious long-term harm to the British economy. We'll know, soon enough. RB, CGTN, London."