Three British Cabinet ministers have thrown their hats into the ring to become Britain’s next prime minister, as the jockeying to replace the outgoing David Cameron begins in earnest.
Home secretary Theresa May, justice secretary Michael Gove and work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb are the members of Cameron’s Cabinet who have declared their intention to succeed him as leader of the ruling Conservative Party, and thus become prime minister.
Conservative MPs who wish to contest the leadership have until noon local time (7 a.m. ET) to declare their run. So far, Conservative MPs Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox have also announced their candidacies. All eyes are now on former London mayor Boris Johnson, one of the most vocal campaigners for a Brexit, to see if he announces a run.
May: Unity needed
May, Britain’s internal affairs chief since 2010, is a leading contender to replace Cameron, who announced his intention to resign after losing his campaign to persuade voters to remain in the European Union at a national referendum last week.
Announcing her candidacy at an event in central London Thursday, she said post-referendum Britain needed “strong, proven leadership to steer us through this period of economic and political uncertainty and to negotiate the best possible terms as we leave the European union.”
“We need leadership that can unite our party and our country,” she said.
“With the Labour Party tearing itself to pieces and divisive nationalists in Scotland and Wales, it is nothing less than the patriotic duty of our party to unite and govern in the best interest of the whole country.”
Gove: Boris can’t do it
Gove, who was the leading Leave campaigner within Cameron’s Cabinet, also announced his plan to run Thursday, Britain’s Press Association reported.
In a surprise move, Gove — who campaigned closely with fellow “Leave” backer Johnson — said he had decided to run after concluding that Johnson “cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.”
Crabb a Cabinet Minister and MP for the Welsh electorate of Preseli Pembrokeshire, announced his leadership ambitions at a press conference on Wednesday.
“On the rainy rugby fields of west Wales I learned that it’s not a question of waiting for the ball to pop out the back of the scrum — if you want it, you do what’s required and you get your hands on it,” he said.
MP Liam Fox, the former defense secretary who resigned from the government in 2011, put his hat into the ring Wednesday, while MP and “Leave” campaigner Andrea Leadsom announced her candidacy via Twitter Thursday.
“Delighted to say I’m running for the @Conservatives Leadership. Let’s make the most of the Brexit opportunities! #FreshStart,” she wrote.
Opposition in turmoil
The referendum result sent shockwaves through the British political establishment, leaving the leadership of both major parties up for grabs as the country faces an uncertain future.
The opposition Labour Party is also in turmoil, with leader Jeremy Corbyn facing a coup from his own MPs amid criticisms he campaigned poorly to keep Britain in the EU. Corbyn has weathered a mass of defections from his leadership team and overwhelmingly lost a no-confidence vote by Labour MPs Tuesday, but is refusing to resign.
He is expected to face a formal challenge from his MPs once a rival leadership candidate is chosen.
In a fiery exchange Wednesday in the first Parliamentary session since the referendum, Cameron told Corbyn that he should step down “in the national interest.”
“It might be in my party’s interest for him to sit there. It’s not in the national interest, and I would say, for heaven’s sake man, go.”
May: ‘No second referendum’
The shock 52 per cent vote to leave the EU has sent the pound tumbling, hurt global markets and inspired renewed talk of Scottish independence.
Amid the turmoil, members of the public, as well as MPs, have called for a second, do-over referendum before the government formally begins the process of leaving the European Union.
But although she campaigned to remain, May said Thursday that there could be no revisiting the vote.
“Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought. The vote was held. Turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict,” she said.
“There may be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door. And no second referendum.”
