Queen confirms May as new British PM after Cameron steps down
New leader calls for unity, hints she will seek to heal fractures stemming from Brexit vote that sparked shakeup; Netanyahu sends congratulations, thanks outgoing leader
Theresa May on Wednesday became Britain’s new prime minister, taking over from David Cameron with the task of negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU.
Queen Elizabeth II invited Conservative Party leader May, 59, to form a government during a brief meeting at Buckingham Palace in London, less than an hour after Cameron tendered his resignation to the head of state.
“The Right Honourable David Cameron MP had an audience of the queen this evening and tendered his resignation as prime minister and first lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept,” the monarch’s communications secretary said in a statement.
May is Britain’s second female prime minister and the 13th of 90-year-old Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
She said she wanted to create “a country that works for everyone”.
Hinting at healing the many fractures that arose in Britain because of the vote to leave the European Union, the new leader stressed she would fight against social injustice and that she believes in the unity of all aspects of the United Kingdom.
“Following the referendum, we face a time of great national change and I know because we are Great Britain, we will rise to the challenge,” May said outside the prime minister’s Downing Street office.
“As we leave the European Union, we will forge a bold, new, positive role for ourselves in the world and we will make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us,” she said.
“That will be the mission of the government I lead and together we will build a better Britain.”
She also pledged to work to hold the UK together in the face of threats by Scotland’s secessionist government to hold a second referendum on independence following the EU vote.
After the remarks, May stopped and waved outside No. 10 Downing Street beside her husband, Philip.
Cameron announced his resignation shortly after a public referendum voted in favor of Britain leaving the European Union, a move he had opposed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter of congratulation to May, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
On Tuesday night Netanyahu spoke with Cameron and thanked him for standing by Israel, and for the good relations and strengthening of ties between Israel and Britain during his term in office, a statement from the PMO said.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on May to swiftly engage in divorce talks with the European Union.
The outcome of the UK vote to leave the EU “has created a new situation which the United Kingdom and the European Union will have to address soon,” Juncker said in a letter to May published on his Twitter account.
“I wish you every success in the task ahead,” he added.
AP and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.