Safe pair of hands taking over a party she once called ‘nasty’

Theresa May earned a reputation as a safe pair of hands as she navigated a job often seen as a poisoned chalice to become the longest-serving home secretary for more than a century.

Now the 59-year-old vicar’s daughter faces the toughest challenge of her political career and is set to arrive at Downing Street tasked with negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU.

She started out stuffing envelopes at her local Conservative Association and will now be expected to stamp her authority on the party in the wake of the EU referendum.