Theresa May Resigns as UK Prime Minister. Here’s why — ish.
“Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime minister I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few but for everyone — and to honor the results of the EU referendum…Our politics may be under strain but there is so much that is good about this country; so much to be proud of, so much to be optimistic about. I will shortly leave the job and it has been the honor of my life to hold; the second female prime minister - but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.” — Theresa May
(Theresa May ended her speech with tears)
UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation as Prime Minister and leader of the country’s Conservative and Unionist Party. Without emotion, I will try to quickly outline my thoughts on this event. (This won’t be a deep article. Please excuse typos too. It came out in a bit of a rush, I must say.):
Theresa Mary May has served the UK as Prime Minister since 2016. In 2016, a referendum was held to allow the UK leave the EU — aka the Brexit. The results of the referendum and the events that followed form a strong case for current and future political students for generations to come. In summary, the UK has been undergoing negotiations for a deal concerning its relationship with the EU after the Brexit. This has been led by Prime Minister Theresa May and hasn’t gone exactly as planned — leading to her resignation today.
While this article is about Theresa May’s resignation, let’s take a step back to understand the Brexit. I mean, why does the UK want to leave the EU?!? I feel like giving this to you as an assignment so we keep this story short but I’m also feeling generous today. So I’ll give you a summary:
In essence, the EU was formed after the World War II to prevent the next war in Europe. (Both world wars began in Europe, come to think of it. ‘Thanks’ to grandmasters Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.) The idea was to foster trade between European Countries. So, EU countries would be shooting themselves in the foot if they went to war against each other. That turned out pretty ok. The UK has been a member of the EU since 1973. Being a part of the EU pretty much means acting in the best interest of the union. The only thing is, being in the EU hasn’t exactly favored the Brits. For e.g. the EU’s currency, the Euro, is weaker than the British Pound. And the UK is expected to adopt the Euro as its national currency by 2020 — if it’s still a part of the EU that is. There are also other issues regarding labor, migration and British legislation (which you can research about lol. Let’s keep this article short.)
Long and short, most Brits haven’t been chill about staying in the EU — or, at least, they weren’t. Despite Former Prime Minister David Cameron’s advocacy, citizens of the UK voted to exit the EU. (David Cameron argued that it was in “the national and economic interest of the UK to stay in a reformed European Union”. When things went south…well he resigned. Read more about it here) Cameron wished his successor the very best in negotiating the terms of an exit that benefits the UK. And his successor was Theresa May — who was invited by the Queen to form a new government. Theresa May promised to make Britain a country that works — and when things didn’t work with getting a good Brexit deal, well she announced her resignation in this month of May. In her speech today, Theresa stresses on the importance of compromise in negotiations and indirectly complains about how difficult the parliament house has been in ‘helping’ to negotiate a Brexit deal with the EU.
The news comes to impact the UK socially, politically and economically. I actually still have to research more into this, so let me not speculate here. But one thing that’s quite obvious is the impact it will have on the British Pound since the news will drive market sentiment. The GPD still remains in the same 3-year freefall in the wake of a likely no-deal Brexit.
So, what happens next? Well, the Next Prime Minister will continue from where May left off negotiating the terms of the Brexit. It appears that Two-third of British Parliament House already want a no-deal Brexit and since the House will choose the Prime Minister, this could either lead to a no-deal Brexit or a complicated road to organizing another referendum which could eventually result in Brexit.
If the UK does stay in the EU for some reason by the end of 2020, you might want to find something good to do with your pound notes if you still have them by then. (Archives for your great grandchildren? Good idea! £20,000 of them? Hold that thought?!)
What a month this has been?! Heightened US-China trade wars and high Brexit emotions. More volatility for the markets I guess.
Who stands to benefit the most from today’s event? And what are your thoughts on Theresa May’s resignation?
Watch Theresa May’s resignation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t25xAp270o
