Theresa May surveys wondrous chance of replacing Cameron
Home Secretary said to be determined to stop ‘faintly ridiculous’ Boris Johnson leading the Conservatives

A three-day media blitz surrounding Theresa May has sparked fresh speculation that the Home Secretary is “on manoeuvres” to position herself as the prime candidate to take over the Conservative Party leadership should David Cameron lose the upcoming general election.
Hard on the heels of her appearances on Desert Island Discs (her choices included Dancing Queen by Abba and the hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross) and the Andrew Marr Show, Theresa May scored an undoubted hit yesterday with Tory backbenchers when she unveiled her tough new anti-terror bill while raising the alarm that a terrorist attack is “inevitable”.
Just as May appears to be all that stands between Britain and a terrorist outrage, the Spectator Life magazine is preparing to publish a soft-focus profile of the Home Secretary by Harry Cole.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Daily Mail has had a sneak preview of the article which quotes a friend of May’s saying she has “given up” on 10 Downing Street which she views as “incompetent” and that she has her own “vision” for the future of the Conservative Party.
“There was a time early on when she would want to please David [Cameron],” says the friend, “but slowly she has seen just how incompetent that operation is… How the PM will say he will do one thing, only to be drawn in another direction. She’s given up on him.”
A spokesman for the Home Office has been quick to deny any such thing – “This quote from an unnamed source bears absolutely no relation to the Home Secretary’s view” – and, to be fair to May, The Mole would suggest that it’s probably the “munchkins” at Number Ten – the PM's inexperienced young advisors and spin-doctors – rather than Cameron himself who she finds frustrating.
The Spectator article also suggests that May regards her main rival for the party leadership – Boris Johnson, Mayor of London – as a “faintly ridiculous” figure whom she is determined to prevent from taking over if Cameron goes. Here May’s “friends” have doubtless got it right: no one pretends that she and Boris sing from the same hymn sheet.
May’s chief aide, Nick Timothy, and former spin doctor, Fiona Cunningham, defend her against accusations that she is risk- averse, pointing out that she successfully battled to deport Abu Qatada and resist US demands to extradite the UK hacker Gary McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s.
“I think she is a massive risk-taker – huge,” says Cunningham. “When she decided not to extradite… McKinnon, she knew the wrath from the States and by God, you know, the tornado that came out of Washington was immense.”
Publication of the Spectator article will coincide with her starring role on Thursday at the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards, attended by most of the movers and shakers inside the Westminster village.
Topping all that, she has become the longest-serving Home Secretary in the past 50 years. Normally the Home Office is regarded as a graveyard for political ambitions.
Yet Tories are buying shares again in the woman who only ten days ago was blamed for a Parliamentary debacle over the European Arrest Warrant. The government tried to avoid a rebellion by Tory eurosceptics by leaving out any mention to the EAW in its motion. Backbenchers rightly smelled a rat, and May faced a Commons storm.
May confessed on Desert Islands Discs to feeling “battered and bruised” by the experience.
There are practical and political reasons for questioning May’s chances of leading the Tories. For a start, she has type one diabetes which means she has to inject herself with insulin four times a day.
All the media hype conveniently forgets she has presided over cuts in the police service of 20 per cent.
The right wing of the Tory Party still won’t forgive her for branding the Conservatives the “nasty party” when she was party chairman back in 2002 – an image that continues to haunt the party today.
And unless the Tory eurosceptics all run away to join Ukip in the event of a Cameron defeat next year, then it’s hard to see them voting for a leader who, as I reported yesterday, stoically refuses to advocate Britain leaving the EU.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Local elections 2025: where are they and who is on course to win?
The Explainer Reform UK predicted to make large gains, with 23 councils and six mayoralties up for grabs
By The Week UK Published
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
CPAC: Scenes from a MAGA zoo
Feature Standing ovations, chainsaws, and salutes
By The Week US Published
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemma
Talking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
New Year's Honours: why the controversy?
Today's Big Question London Mayor Sadiq Khan and England men's football manager Gareth Southgate have both received a knighthood despite debatable records
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is there a Christmas curse on Downing Street?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer could follow a long line of prime ministers forced to swap festive cheer for the dreaded Christmas crisis
By The Week UK Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published