May vows to give people '˜more control over lives'

Mrs May will take up office as Britain’s second female PM tomorrow, after Mr Cameron answers MPs’ questions in the House of Commons for the last time and goes to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to the Queen.

Even before arriving at 10 Downing Street, Mrs May was facing calls for a snap general election from Labour, who said it was “crucial” that the UK has a “democratically elected Prime Minister” at a time of economic and political instability following the vote to leave the EU.

The Home Secretary was unexpectedly transformed from leadership candidate to prime minister-designate by the sensational decision yesterday of her only rival, Andrea Leadsom, to pull out of the race to succeed Mr Cameron, which had been due to last until September 9.

Admitting she was “shattered” by a torrid few days of negative headlines since securing her place on the ballot paper for a nationwide poll of Tory members, Mrs Leadsom conceded she had too little support among MPs to offer “strong and stable government”, and offered Mrs May her “full support”.

Mrs May - who rushed back to Westminster from a campaign speech in Birmingham - appeared outside Parliament to declare herself “honoured and humbled” to become the Conservative leader.

Accompanied by husband Philip John and flanked by dozens of applauding MPs from all sides of the party, Mrs May said she would offer “strong, proven leadership to steer us through what will be difficult and uncertain economic and political times”.

She repeated her message that “Brexit means Brexit”, in a clear bid to reassure Eurosceptic Tories that she will make good on the referendum vote to quit the EU, despite being a Remain supporter during the campaign.

And she set out her One Nation vision of “a country that works not for the privileged few, but that works for every one of us”, adding: “We are going to give people more control over their lives and that’s how together we will build a better Britain.”

Her speech in Birmingham signalled a sharp change in direction for the Government when she takes the helm, promising “a different kind of Conservatism” that will “get tough on irresponsible behaviour in big business” and give ordinary workers a greater share in economic growth.

She set out a series of plans to rein in executive pay and bonuses, put workers into the boardroom and tackle market abuses by banks and utility companies, while also putting multinational companies such as Amazon, Google and Starbucks on notice that she expects them to pay their taxes in full.

Mr Cameron said he was “delighted” that the 59-year-old Home Secretary will replace him in Downing Street.

Speaking outside Number 10 yesterday, he said: “She is strong, she is competent, she is more than able to provide the leadership that our country is going to need in the years ahead and she will have my full support.”