SWINDON politicians have begun reacting to the announcement that Theresa May will step down by June 7.
Sarah Church, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for South Swindon, said: "This has been a long time coming. Theresa May’s premiership has been defined by Brexit and therefore defined by chaos and division.
READ MORE: Theresa May will resign on June 7
"It sickens me to think that a tiny group of Conservative Party members will now choose our next prime minister.
"By all accounts it looks set to be a man who has made explicit racist comments, lengthened the imprisonment of a British national in Iran through incompetence, and whose only care is his own career.
"I strongly hope that a general election will follow hot on the heels of the Tory party leadership contest to give us all a chance to give our consent to who governs us."
Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon, said: "It has been an absolute pleasure to serve under Theresa May - steadfast, dignified, focused and driven.
"Whilst Brexit deadlock remained, she delivered record employment and significant investment in public services - genuine opportunity for all."
Robert Buckland, South Swindon MP and prisons minister, added: “I thought it was a very dignified and unexpectedly moving speech. It’s understandable that, bearing in mind the inability to move Brexit forwards, rightly she’s taken this course of action.
“When the dust settles, I think people will say this is a woman who took on an extremely difficult task, which became progressively more difficult. I genuinely wonder whether anybody else could have ended up in a different place.”
Claire Perry, Devizes MP, told the BBC: "She was right to reach out across the House and have conversations with Labour, but we now need a fresh pair of eyes and to get on with Brexit."
More follows.
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