Former UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Friday announced that she will stand down as a member of parliament at the next general election, due to take place later this year. May, 67, is the most senior member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party to announce they will not seek re-election. The Tories have consistently trailed the main opposition Labour Party since October 2022 and are broadly seen as on course to be dumped out of power after 14 years. Mrs May, who led the country from 2016 to 2019 in the wake of the vote for Brexit, has represented Maidenhead in Berkshire for 27 years. She said the "difficult decision" to leave the seat would enable her to spend more time on a "cause close to my heart".
“It has been an honour and a privilege to serve everyone in the Maidenhead constituency as a member of parliament for the last 27 years,” she said in a statement to the local Maidenhead Advertiser newspaper.
“Since stepping down as prime minister I have enjoyed being a backbencher again and having more time to work for my constituents and champion causes close to my heart including most recently launching a Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
“These causes have been taking an increasing amount of my time.
“Because of this, after much careful thought and consideration, I have realised that looking ahead, I would no longer be able to do my job as an MP in the way I believe is right and my constituents deserve,” she added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who got his first government job as a junior minister during her tenure in Downing Street, called her a "relentless campaigner" who had been "fiercely loyal" to Maidenhead. He added that she "defines what it means to be a public servant".
May's tenure was dominated by Brexit, overseeing one of the most turbulent periods in recent British political history as she grappled to hold together a party, and a country, that was deeply divided over what Britain's withdrawal from the EU meant for the nation's future.
Ultimately, she tearfully resigned as prime minister in failure in 2019 having been unable to deliver Brexit on schedule or find a way to get parliament to approve her exit plan.
Since leaving office she has remained a member of parliament for her constituency in south-east England.
