What Happens Now Theresa May Has Resigned: All Your Questions Answered

Buckle yourselves in, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Theresa May has revealed that she will step down as Tory leader on June 7 and the race to replace her has already started. 

So, after all of those votes on her Brexit deal, what happens now? A second referendum? General election? 

Here are all your questions answered. 

When will we have a new Tory leader and PM? 

The deadline for nominations will be June 10, the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs has confirmed. Candidates must be nominated by at least two Tory MPs. 

Boris Johnson, Esther McVey and Rory Stewart have all confirmed they will stand but there will be at least 10 MPs who put themselves forward. 

The candidates will be whittled down to a final two via a series of MPs’ votes. Tory members will choose between the final two. 

MPs votes will be concluded by the end of June. There will be a new Tory leader and PM by the Conservative Party conference in September, and possibly as soon as July. 

Johnson is the clear favourite as it stands. 

What will happen with Brexit? 

The million dollar question. 

As it stands, the extension the EU granted the UK expires on October 31 when the legal default will be that Britain exits the bloc with or without a deal. 

Theresa May’s Brexit deal was three times rejected by MPs and her party revolted after she went into talks with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, underlining that her successor has few options. 

It is widely accepted now that the next Tory leader must be prepared to advocate a no-deal Brexit to win majority support with MPs and the Tory party. 

But, as we learned via a series of Commons votes earlier this year, there is no majority in parliament for a no-deal Brexit.

The next PM will probably want to negotiate their own Brexit deal with Brussels. 

But whoever succeeds May cannot disregard the fact that his or her deal will still require MPs’ approval via another so-called meaningful vote. 

If rejected, and if we know anything it is that MPs cannot agree on Brexit, the PM will face the choice of a softer Brexit, a no-deal exit, seeking a further extension to Article 50 or, and this does not seem likely, stopping Brexit altogether. 

Will there be a general election? 

This seems very likely. 

There are many persuasive arguments for the new PM to choose this path. As they will be negotiating Brexit and making huge changes to the country, they may want to secure a mandate from the people. 

Given MPs have been unable to back any of the Brexit options put before them - and there have been many - the new PM may think changing the make-up of the Commons is their best chance of getting a Brexit deal through. 

Reports have also emerged that the Conservatives may cut a deal with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, which looks set to sweep the European elections this weekend. This would give them a fighting chance of winning a large majority, though some Tory MPs have said they could not support such a move. 

If there is to be a general election, it could be in the autumn with rumours of dates in September and October already circulating. This would give the new leader time to set out a policy agenda at the party conference in September. 

What about a second referendum? 

The prospect of a second Brexit - or a so-called people’s vote - is fading. 

The next Tory leader is all but certain to shift the governing party toward a harder Brexit. 

The best chance of this becoming a reality would be via a general election and the parties which support a second referendum, which include the SNP, Greens, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru, doing well and gaining influence. 

Labour is the party able to have the most impact, but its current policy is to keep a second referendum as an option. 

Corbyn’s Brexit policy could be about to undergo a major shift, however, with the party’s pro-EU membership planning an avalanche of motions at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton. 

They will put serious pressure on the leadership to take an anti-Brexit, pro-second referendum position.