Second May ministry

The second May ministry was formed on 11 June 2017 after Theresa May returned to office following the June 2017 snap general election. The election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservative Party losing its governing majority in the House of Commons. On 9 June 2017, May announced her intention to form a Conservative minority government, reliant on the confidence and supply of the Democratic Unionist Party; a finalised agreement between the two parties was signed and published on 26 June 2017.

May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June. She remained in office as caretaker prime minister during the resulting Conservative Party leadership election, before officially resigning on 24 July, after which she was succeeded as prime minister by former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

The 2017 snap election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party holding the most seats in the House of Commons, but without an overall majority. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had suggested that it would be able to provide a coalition or confidence and supply arrangement depending on negotiations. Theresa May, the incumbent Conservative prime minister, announced her intention on 9 June 2017 to form a new minority government with support from the DUP. Both parties indicated that this support would be in the form of a confidence and supply agreement, rather than a formal coalition.

On 10 June, a survey of 1,500 Conservative Home readers found that almost two-thirds of Conservative Party members wanted Theresa May to resign. A YouGov poll of 1,720 adults for The Sunday Times had 48% saying Theresa May should resign, with 38% against. A Survation poll of 1,036 adults online for The Mail on Sunday had 49% of people wanting her resignation, with 38% against.

On 10 June 2017, 10 Downing Street issued a statement saying that a Conservative–DUP agreement had been reached in principle. A few hours later, the statement was retracted when it was said that it had been "issued in error" and that talks between the two parties were still ongoing. Former Prime Minister John Major was concerned that a deal between the Conservatives and DUP could endanger the Northern Ireland peace process.

On 11 June 2017, former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne described May as a "dead woman walking". The Secretary of State for Justice, David Lidington, dismissed speculation about May's future as "gossipy stories". Senior Labour politicians stated that they planned to challenge the Conservative minority government early and to put forward alternative policies in their reply to the Queen's Speech. Jeremy Corbyn said he believed there was a majority in parliament for many issues on which Labour "is sympathetic", giving as examples the repeal of the Under-occupancy penalty ('bedroom tax'), and maintaining the triple lock on pensions and the winter fuel allowance. In an interview on 11 June, Corbyn stated that he expected another election to be held within a year.

Michael Gove said that the minority government would probably reduce austerity and increase spending on public services. Stephen Bush of the New Statesman also expected less austerity, saying that if voters saw continued austerity in England, Scotland and Wales while the government spent generously in Northern Ireland to maintain the pact with the DUP then the Conservatives would become more unpopular. A 1% pay cap on public sector workers was under review according to 10 Downing Street. and increasing numbers of high ranking Conservatives wanted to end it.

On the afternoon of 11 June, Theresa May finalised the composition of her cabinet. The senior positions of Chancellor, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, as well as the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, had already been confirmed on 9 June with all four incumbents staying in office. The reshuffle saw prominent Brexiteer MPs, such as Boris Johnson and David Davis, retain their roles, but also resulted in the promotion of Damian Green and David Gauke, both of whom had supported the remain side during the EU referendum. Junior ministerial roles were allocated the following day, with a full list of new ministerial and government appointments confirmed on 12 June.