--- description: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain's departure from the European Union may bring "difficult times" to the country title: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May Says Brexit Could Bring 'Difficult Times' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ccca6241de9d4c/6988a4ca8e0601764246757a/theresa-may-brexit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May Says Brexit Could Bring 'Difficult Times' by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 4, 2016 4:02 PM CUT  British Prime Minister Theresa May looks on during a visit to the Warwick Manufacturing Group facility at the University of Warwick on Sept. 1, 2016 in Solihull, England. Mrs May used the visit to highlight that Britain continues to be open for economic investment following the country's decision to leave the European Union. British Prime Minister Theresa May looks on during a visit to the Warwick Manufacturing Group facility at the University of Warwick on Sept. 1, 2016 in Solihull, England. Mrs May used the visit to highlight that Britain continues to be open for economic investment following the country's decision to leave the European Union.Carl Court—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 4, 2016 4:02 PM CUT U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said [Britain’s departure from the European Union](http://time.com/4389858/brexit-referendum-united-kingdom-breakup/ "undefined") may bring “difficult times” to the country. Ahead of the G20 summit with world leaders in China, May told [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37268458 "undefined") that [Brexit](http://time.com/4390967/brexit-uk-economic-shock/ "undefined") would not be “plain sailing” for the country, despite positive economic figures in the months since the referendum. “I think we must be prepared for the fact that there may be some difficult times ahead,” she [said](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37268458 "undefined"). “But what I am is optimistic.” May said her administration wants to “emphasize” its role in the world, including making new deals. “We want to be an independent Britain, forging out own way in the world,” she said. President Barack Obama met with May ahead of the summit to discuss the new leader’s plans as it exits the European Union. “The bottom line is that we don’t have a stronger political partner anywhere in the world than the United Kingdom,” Obama [told reporters](http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/04/europe/uk-brexit-may/ "undefined"). “Despite the turbulence of political events over the last several months, we have every intention to making sure that that continues.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/"},"headline":"U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May Says Brexit Could Bring 'Difficult Times'","datePublished":"2016-09-04T16:02:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:23:39.084Z","description":"Brexit will not be \"plain sailing\" for the country","url":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/","keywords":["United Kingdom","Brexit"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ccca6241de9d4c/6988a4ca8e0601764246757a/theresa-may-brexit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ccca6241de9d4c/6988a4ca8e0601764246757a/theresa-may-brexit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Theresa May Visits The West Midlands","caption":"Theresa May Visits The West Midlands","creditText":"Carl Court—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/","name":"U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May Says Brexit Could Bring 'Difficult Times'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Theresa May is the U.K.'s New Prime Minister","description":"May won the leadership of the ruling Conservative party after her final challenger, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out of the race Monday. She now commands the parliamentary majority necessary to form a government.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/XpzZvOMi/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-07-13T18:02:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XpzZvOMi.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/","duration":"PT40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4478830/theresa-may-brexit-difficult-times/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```