UK PM Theresa May To Step Down After Brexit Logjam, Says Post Was 'Honor Of My Life'

British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday that she will step down June 7. 

The Conservative Party must now choose a successor, Reuters reported.

May failed to win parliamentary backing for the Brexit divorce agreement she has been negotiating with the European Union.

May gave an emotional speech delivered on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London. May stressed she had done her best to deliver Brexit and said it was a matter of deep regret that she had been unable to do so.

"I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold — the second female prime minister but certainly not the last," she said. 

As the news broke, the pound sterling, which has been under pressure this week, climbed higher. The sterling gained against the euro and U.S. dollar and a host of other major currencies as markets reacted to the news.

This move has not gone unnoticed.

“Theresa May’s resignation came as no surprise, but the modest support sterling and U.K rates have enjoyed since her announcement is somewhat remarkable,” Tim Graf, the head of European and Middle Eastern macro strategy at State Street Global Markets, said in statement.

“We suspect that support will prove temporary. Not only do proponents of a no-deal Brexit dominate the list of her likely successors, Parliament has almost no options at its disposal to check any future Prime Minister who wants to leave the European Union without a deal." 

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British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her pending resignation at 10 Downing Street on Friday, May 24. U.K. government photo.