To the complete surprise of journalists and Brexit supporters, former London mayor Boris Johnson pulled out of the race to become Britain's prime minister Thursday. Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to step down in response to the people’s vote to exit the EU, Johnson was the favorite to take over.
This puts interior minister Theresa May, a party stalwart who backed remaining in the European Union, in a good position to succeed Cameron.
The decision to quit the EU has already cost Britain its top credit rating, pushed the pound to its lowest level against the dollar since the mid-1980s and wiped out a record $3 trillion off global shares. Several other countries, discontented with their affiliation with the EU bloc have already stated their intention of following in the footsteps of the UK and EU leaders are trying to stop membership from unraveling further.
IMF Concerned
The International Monetary Fund indicated that uncertainty over Brexit would hurt economic growth in Britain, the rest of Europe and the wider world and the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said monetary policy would probably be eased over the summer.
May is considered as evenhanded leader within political circles and if elected she has promised to go ahead with the withdrawal from the EU that voters had demanded despite having campaigned for the other side.
Brexit means Brexit," she told a news conference. "The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door and no second referendum."