With Theresa May taking over as the next Prime Minister of Britain, she will become the country’s second female leader after Margaret Thatcher.
And talks of similarities between the two have already begun.
Much like ‘Iron Lady’ Thatcher, the 59-year-old Home Secretary May has a reputation for being a tough task master. Some of her close friends, as Guardian reports, says she can be a “bugger.”
After her only rival for the Conservative Party leader, Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom, 53, dropped out of the race, it was sure that May was on her path to assume one of the most powerful positions in the political scene.
Prime Minister David Cameron will deliver his resignation to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, after which May will formally replace him.
Daughter of a Vicar, She Has Been Compared to Margaret Thatcher
Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, to a vicar of a Church of England, May studied in both public and private schools before pursuing geography at Oxford University’s St Hugh’s College, graduating in 1977.
After graduating, May started working at the Bank Of England. Her initiation into the world of politics wasn’t until she served as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994.
After failed bids at entering the Parliament between 1992-1994, May was finally elected as a Conservative member of Parliament for Maidenhead in 1997. She then went onto become the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 until 2003.
After the formation of the Coalition Government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary in 2010 and is the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years ago.
It was Benazir Bhutto – who went on to become prime minister of Pakistan – who introduced May to her husband British banker Philip May at a Conservative Party disco while they were attending Oxford. They have been married since 1980.
According to the BBC, her comparison with Margaret Thatcher has more to it than the two simply being tough ladies. The two attended Oxford University, share a common love for the sitcom Yes Minister and had their political lives deeply intertwined with their personal ones.
‘A Bloody Difficult Woman’
For CNN political contributor Robin Oakley, May is “the nearest thing you could find in British politics today to Margaret Thatcher.”
But Thatcher is not the only political hotshot she has been compared to.
The Financial Times in London described May as a liberal conservative and compared her to Germany’s Angela Merkel.
But it was Tory grandee Ken Clarke’s remarks about May that brought out her witty side.
After he referred to her as a “bloody difficult woman,” May turned it around in her favour at the last parliamentary hustings, promising that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker would soon find out how “bloody difficult” she could be.
A Long Battle With Diabetes
She is not known for being too vocal about her personal life but it was in 2013 that she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and would require insulin injections twice a day for the rest of her life, as reported by the BBC.
She considers walking her hobby, something she says keeps her health in check too.
An Active Supporter of Same-Sex Marriage
May stood with the Remain camp in the “Brexit” vote, but after the decision, she made it clear that there wasn’t going to be a do-over on the decision, reported CNN.
Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought. The vote was held. Turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict.
May supports same-sex marriage, selling public forests, raising undergraduate tuition fees, reducing welfare benefits, sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and stronger enforcement of immigration rules.
May has had her share of embarrassments, including the infamous “go home vans,” which were started as an effort to encourage illegal immigrants to self-deport but were criticised for being xenophobic.
According to political analysts, May is clear on what she wants. She is sure that people want more than a “Brexit PM” and has vowed to unify the Leave and Remain factions in the party.
(It is) nothing less than the patriotic duty of our party to unite and to govern in the best interests of the whole country. We need a bold, new, positive vision for the future of our country – a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us.
May: Footwear Junkie, Owner of 100 Recipe Books
May confessed that cooking is one of her passions and that she owns 100 recipe books, according to the BBC.
Her taste in music includes songs from Abba alongside Mozart and Elgar.
In her early days, May was quite well known for her “exuberant choice in footwear.” Her obsession with ‘kitten heels’ found interest with photographers alike, who would photograph her feet as part of profiles on her.
When asked what she would take with her if she would be taken to a deserted island, her answer confirmed her love for heels – she named a lifetime subscription to Vogue as the luxury item she would take.
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