Britian's political turmoil only just got real with Theresa May stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party. She will remain prime minister until a new leader is chosen. This is likely to take place by late July.
Her successor will have to take over the task of delivering Brexit, a task May failed to complete, something that pushed the leader to announce her resignation as well. May for now has also relinquished the control over the direction of Britain's tortuous departure from the European Union.
May took to office in 2016, after her predecessor, David Cameron voted for the referendum to leave the EU. She spent literally most of her term trying to make the Brexit transition as smooth as possible.
She finally acknowledged defeat in a tearful resignation speech last month, the culmination of months of political turmoil that has slowly sapped all her authority.
There are about eleven Conservative MPs vying for the post of PM after May. Former foreign minister Boris Johnson is a popular choice. Some are expected to drop out before Monday's deadline for nominations.
May's successor will have only a few months to decide whether to try to salvage her plan, delay Brexit again or sever ties with Britain's closest trading partner with no agreement at all.
Eurosceptic figurehead and leader of Brexit party Nigel Farage, who topped at the EU elections last month has made a strong show of showing in by-election for the British parliament in the eastern city of Peterborough on Thursday, but failed in its goal of winning its first MP.
However, the pro-European Liberal Democrats, who want to reverse Brexit, also performed well in the European polls, highlighting how divided Britain remains over its future.
