Politics

Who Is Theresa May?

Boris Johnson’s shock decision to not run for the leadership of the Conservative Party Thursday rattled the already shaken U.K. political scene, and created a new favorite for the top job: Theresa May. For the first time since Margaret Thatcher, who stepped down amid an intraparty revolt in 1991, Great Britain is poised to be led by a woman, the second in its history.

May’s ascension is far from assured, but bookmakers put her at 67 percent odds to win the Conservative Party leadership, with no clear main competitor. The leader of the Conservative Party will then become Prime Minister, because the Conservatives control a majority in the U.K. Parliament.

Michael Gove, who was a fervent supporter of Brexit, is given distant odds of winning, but second-best odds overall. Gove’s own bid for leadership forced his former ally Johnson out of the race, an act which is being seen in Britain as an historic betrayal. Gove is coming under increasing pressure Friday to abandon his bid altogether. May has stormed the early part of the race with a campaign and demeanor that is seen as appropriately serious for a time of national crisis following the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union.