Andrea Leadsom, finalist for British prime minister, drops out of the race

(Image credit: Carl Court/Getty Images)

published 11 July 2016

Andrea Leadsom, one of the two women selected as the Conservative Party's finalists to run for British prime minister, announced Monday that she was dropping out of the race. Leadsom's exit clears the way for the sole remaining finalist, Theresa May, to succeed current Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation following the Brexit vote.

Leadsom said she decided to drop out after she felt "under attack, under enormous pressure" from senior party colleagues following comments she made about May not having any children. "It has been shattering," she said during a Monday interview, after announcing that she'd "concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment."

The two finalists, chosen by the ruling Conservative Party from five candidates, were set to be voted on by the party's 150,000 people this fall. It is not yet clear whether Leadsom's decision will allow May to automatically become the next prime minister, or whether the party will need to find another finalist.