Theresa May's Appointment as Prime Minister
Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July 2016 following the Brexit referendum. She succeeded David Cameron after his resignation announcement on 24 June 2016, and formally took office on 13 July 2016 after Queen Elizabeth II accepted his resignation and invited her to form a government. May was the second female Prime Minister in UK history and the first to lead the country through the formal Brexit process, with her premiership later ending in July 2019 after she failed to secure parliamentary support for her withdrawal agreement on multiple occasions BBC Politics.
The transition from Cameron to May followed a Conservative Party leadership contest triggered by the 23 June 2016 referendum result, in which 51.9 percent of voters chose to leave the European Union. May campaigned for Remain but was seen as a unifying candidate capable of delivering Brexit, and she won the leadership contest against Andrea Leadsom after Michael Gove withdrew. Her appointment marked a shift in UK executive leadership at a time of heightened uncertainty for financial markets, with the FTSE 100 and sterling reacting to the political change Financial Times.
Key Policy Actions During May's Premiership
During her time in office, May triggered Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon on 29 March 2017, formally beginning the UK's withdrawal process from the European Union. She also called a snap general election in June 2017, which resulted in a hung parliament and forced her to rely on a confidence-and-supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party to maintain a working majority in the House of Commons GOV.UK.
Domestically, May's government focused on industrial strategy, social care reform, and national security, while internationally she pursued a modern industrial strategy aimed at boosting productivity and backing sectors such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. Her administration also faced scrutiny over data protection rules and the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, with the Information Commissioner's Office enforcing new standards across UK-based firms ICO.
End of Premiership and Legacy
May resigned as Conservative Party leader on 24 May 2019 and left office on 24 July 2019, when Boris Johnson succeeded her as Prime Minister. Her departure followed repeated defeats of her Brexit withdrawal agreement in Parliament, including the meaningful votes on 15 January 2019, 12 March 2019, and 29 March 2019, which highlighted deep divisions within the Conservative Party and across the House of Commons UK Parliament.
May's premiership is remembered for the difficulty of delivering Brexit, the snap election result that weakened her authority, and a series of high-profile cabinet resignations, including those of Boris Johnson, David Davis, and Dominic Raab over disagreements on the withdrawal agreement. Her government also oversaw a period of slower GDP growth relative to the pre-referendum trend, with the Office for Budget Responsibility revising its forecasts downward multiple times, and the UK economy faced ongoing uncertainty that affected investment decisions and sterling's exchange rate OBR.