MOSCOW (Sputnik) – UK Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom withdrew her candidacy on Monday from the contest for the leadership of the Conservative party and the country’s prime minister.
"I have however concluded that the interest of our countries are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well-supported Prime Minister. I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish Theresa May the very greatest success. I assure her of my full support," Leadsom said in a statement.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation anticipated this fall after his campaign to keep the United Kingdom a member of the European Union lost 52-48 percent in a June 23 referendum. Leadsom as well as Home Secretary Theresa May emerged as two candidates to head the UK Conservative Party and to become the country’s new prime minister.