UK’s PM officially steps down as Tory leader amid chaos in British politics

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May formally steps down as Conservative Party leader on Friday, defeated by the Brexit conundrum.

May announced she would step down last month after failing to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union on time, deepening a political crisis in a divided country struggling to move on from a 2016 referendum on Brexit.

She will continue to work as prime minister until her party elects a new leader, a crowded race that will be defined by Brexit and competing approaches on how to deliver Britain’s biggest policy shift in more than 40 years.

“For the remainder of her time in office, she will be building on the domestic agenda that she has put at the heart of her premiership,” her spokeswoman told reporters.

Across the English Channel, Brexit has shattered the U.K.'s political map. May's Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party are both fractured over how to leave the EU. May's carefully crafted Brexit deal with the bloc has been thrown out three times by Parliament, and departure day has been postponed from March 29 until Oct. 31.

Conservative lawmakers will hold a ballot June 13, with any candidates who don't get at least 5 per cent of votes dropping out. Further rounds will be held on June 18, 19 and 20 if needed, with the least popular candidate dropping out each time.

The final two candidates will be put to a postal ballot of about 160,000 Conservative members, with the winner announced the week of July 22.

The race, which already has 11 candidates, is dominated by Brexit.

The front-runner, Boris Johnson, has warned the Conservatives face "extinction" if Britain doesn't leave the EU on Oct. 31.

Johnson is one of several contenders — including Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Health Secretary Matt Hancock — promising to go back to Brussels and make changes to the Brexit deal.