Her resignation will trigger the beginning of the contest to find her successor, which will commence the following Monday when all the candidates will be formally declared.

When a Prime Minister resigns as party leader, they have the choice between staying on as Prime Minister until a new leader is elected or also resigning as Prime Minister in favor of another Conservative MP who would temporarily hold office until the leadership contest is over.

Normally the time between announcing one Prime Minister’s departure and installing the next one would take a couple of months, with a new leader expected to be in place in July.