Former UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday that she will step down as a member of parliament in the upcoming general election later this year.
May, 67, is the most senior member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s Conservative Party to announce that they will not seek re-election.
Since October 2022, the Tories have constantly trailed the main opposition Labour Party, and they are largely expected to be ousted after 14 years in power.
May has represented the Maidenhead seat in southeast England since 1997 and was prime minister from 2016 to 2019, a turbulent period in the UK as it attempted to negotiate its exit from the European Union.
“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.
May served as interior minister between 2010 and 2016 under then-leader David Cameron.
But he resigned immediately after Britain voted to leave the EU on June 23, 2016, and May became prime minister less than a month later.
She called a general election in 2017 to try to break the logjam over the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU, but the vote ended in a hung parliament.
Unable to get her deal through parliament, her Conservative party suffered a defeat in European elections in May 2019, leading to her resignation.
While dominated by Brexit, May was also in charge during terror attacks in London and Manchester, and when fire ripped through the Grenfell Tower block in the UK capital killing 72.