Theresa May Tells MPs She Will Resign As PM After Brexit

Teresa May has told Tory MPs that she will quit as PM once the U.K. has formally quit the European Union, in a dramatic last-ditch attempt to secure support for her deal. Speaking to backbenchers in a packed room in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, May said she would step down as prime minister sooner than previously thought, but did not give a firm date for her departure. Paying tribute to her staff and her team, the prime minister – who reportedly had a “crack in her voice” as she spoke – is hoping the announcement will unlock the vital support needed to get her Brexit deal through parliament, securing the backing of key figures such as Boris Johnson and Iain Duncan Smith. “I don’t go around the bars gossiping with colleagues. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t heard the message,” she said. May told MPs this has been a “testing time for our country and our party”, and said “we’re almost ready to start a new chapter and build that brighter future.” But she said she had understood the mood of the parliamentary party, and of the desire for “a new approach, and new leadership, in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations.” “I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party,” she said. “I ask everyone in this room to back the deal so we can complete our historic duty – to deliver on the decision of the British people and leave the European Union with a smooth and orderly exit.” The prime minister has hinted that she might bring back her deal and ask MPs to vote on it for a third time, possibly on Friday.