Ex London Mayor Backs Away From UK PM Bid

Local Editor

Withdrawing his participation in the contest to be UK Prime Minister, Mayor Boris Johnson's announcement, to audible gasps from a roomful of journalists and supporters Thursday, was the biggest political surprise since PM David Cameron quit after losing last week's referendum on British membership of the bloc.

Eventually, this made Interior Minister Theresa May, a party stalwart who backed remaining in the European Union, the new favorite to succeed Cameron.

May, seen as a steady hand, announced her own candidacy earlier Thursday, promising to deliver the withdrawal from the EU voters had demanded despite having campaigned for the other side.

"Brexit means Brexit," she told a news conference. "The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door and no second referendum."

Relatively, the decision to quit the EU has cost Britain its top credit rating, pushed the pound to its lowest level against the dollar since the mid-1980s and wiped a record $3 trillion off global shares.

Meanwhile, EU leaders are scrambling to prevent further unraveling of a bloc that helped guarantee peace in postwar Europe.

For its part, the International Monetary Fund indicated that uncertainty over Brexit would hurt economic growth in Britain, the rest of Europe and the wider world.

In this regards, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said monetary policy would probably be eased over the summer.

Johnson, whose backing for the Leave cause was seen as essential to its victory, saw his leadership bid suddenly crumble after his Brexit campaign ally, Justice Secretary Michael Gove, withdrew support and announced a bid of his own.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team