Theresa May today becomes Britain’s second ever female prime minister – and will swiftly promote a string of women to senior Cabinet posts

Theresa May today becomes Britain’s second ever female prime minister – and will swiftly promote a string of women to senior Cabinet posts.

The combative Amber Rudd is tipped for one of the great offices of state and could replace Mrs May in the Home Office or even move into the Treasury.

Justine Greening and Priti Patel – a senior figure in the Brexit campaign – are also tipped for promotions. Mrs May’s aides said ‘she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions’.

Her first Cabinet could eclipse the record eight women who held posts under Tony Blair.

Insiders predicted that George Osborne’s six-year reign at the Treasury was over.

Mrs May, who attacked the Chancellor earlier this week for failing to carry out ‘deep economic reform’, is being urged by some supporters to remove him from government altogether.

In under a month the face of British politics has completely changed and today David Cameron has a farewell Prime Minister’s Questions before returning to No 10 for the last time.

Yesterday, as he held his 215th and final Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, removal vans drew up outside to take away his family’s possessions. He is expected to visit the Queen at around 5pm today after making a last address from outside No 10, flanked by wife Samantha and their three children.

Aides said Mr Cameron would hail his legacy as one of rescuing the economy, introducing gay marriage and the living wage, school reform, apprenticeships and – controversially – massively increasing foreign aid.

In other developments yesterday:

Jeremy Corbyn secured a place in the Labour leadership contest – intensifying the party’s civil war;

Mrs May told cheering Tory staffers that she wants to win a landslide at the 2020 election, ruling out an early poll;

She also pledged to make the appointment of a Cabinet minister for Brexit one of her first jobs in No 10;

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned it could take six years to deliver Brexit.

As Mrs May finalised her first administraton, energy secretary Mrs Rudd was tipped to become either Home Secretary, the first ever female Defence Secretary or even Chancellor.

She has a financial background, having worked for JP Morgan in both London and New York and then in venture capital.

She rose to prominence during the referendum campaign – making a series of withering attacks on Boris Johnson in the televised live debates.

At one stage, she pointedly said: ‘Boris is the life and soul of the party – but he isn’t the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening.’

She also claimed Mr Johnson had supported Brexit out of personal ambition, not principle.

At the weekend, she was prominent in the attacks on Mrs May’s rival Andrea Leadsom, who she accused of lacking the experience to do the top job.

Top team: Justine Greening (left) and Brexit backer Priti Patel (right) are also tipped for promotions. Mrs May’s aides said ‘she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions’

Mr Osborne is rumoured to be replaced by Mr Hammond, who last night made a surprise appearance at the summer party of the British Bankers Association.

If Mrs Rudd does not land the Home Office, the job will go to leading Brexiteer Chris Grayling.

Mr Grayling has also been linked with the post of Cabinet minister for Brexit – along with Liam Fox and David Davis.

POUND RALLIES AS MAY 'BRINGS BACK STABILITY' The coronation of Theresa May continued to calm financial markets yesterday for a second day. The value of the pound plunged after the referendum amid concerns about the impact of Brexit and the ensuing political upheaval. But the appointment of Theresa May, who is viewed both in the City and Westminster as a ‘safe pair of hands’, soothed investors’ nerves. Sterling jumped 2.15 per cent to $1.32 and almost 2 per cent to 1.20 euros. The FTSE 100 share index briefly surged before closing barely changed at 6680.69, a fall of just 0.03 per cent. The FTSE 250 index rose 0.6 per cent to 16807.07. David Buik, of stockbroker Panmure Gordon, said Mrs May will ‘bring back stability’ and that she ‘eats nails for breakfast and spits out rust’. But he warned the pound is likely to fall if the Bank of England cuts interest rates tomorrow, as is expected. Advertisement

Mrs Leadsom is expected to win a promotion from the job of junior energy minister, possibly heading up the Energy Department.

International Development Secretary Miss Greening is also expected to be rewarded with a promotion. She was one of the first Cabinet ministers to declare for Mrs May and could be heading to health or education.

Employment minister Priti Patel is on course to be bumped up to a full Cabinet job. Other women tipped for promotion over the course of the next two days include Karen Bradley, who has worked for Mrs May at the Home Office. Harriett Baldwin has impressed as City minister while Margot James was one of the first MPs to back Mrs May.

Mr Osborne was still being touted for a possible job swap to Foreign Secretary, in charge of promoting trade – but some MPs, furious at his ‘emergency budget’ during the referendum, want him sacked altogether.

The alternative is to hand him a job in a slimmed-down Foreign Office or the Business Department helping to secure trade deals.

Mrs May said her aim was to form a government to win a landslide at the next general election – which she insisted would not be before 2020.

She told cheering party activists she was determined to crush the Labour Party and ‘win big’. Mrs May’s Cabinet is expected to fall short of ‘gender parity’, which is a 50/50 split between the sexes.

But a spokesman for Mrs May said: ‘It was Theresa that set up the campaign to elect more female MPs to Parliament.

‘She has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions.’

On the up: Other women tipped for promotion over the course of the next two days include Karen Bradley, left, who has worked for Mrs May at the Home Office - Andrea Leadsom is expected to win a promotion from the job of junior energy minister, possibly heading up the Energy Department.

The fate of leading Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove also continued to hang in the balance. Friends of Mr Johnson say he has not given up hope of landing a job, possibly as party chairman rallying the troops.

Some allies of Mrs May would also like Mr Gove to be kept on as Justice Secretary – despite clashing repeatedly with Mrs May over the years.

He could be charged with continuing the prison reforms which are central to the Government’s life chances strategy.

Mrs May spent much of yesterday locked in talks with senior civil servants and her advisers.

Following Cabinet, she delivered a farewell speech to the Home Office in which she thanked staff for helping to turn the department into a champion of the ‘vulnerable’.

The combative Amber Rudd is tipped for one of the great offices of state and could replace Mrs May in the Home Office or even move into the Treasury

She pointed to the work which had been done on getting justice for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and victims of historic sexual abuse. She lauded the Modern Slavery Bill as one of her finest achievements in office.

Mrs May told civil servants – many of who she has clashed with over the past six years: ‘There will always be a little bit of the Home Office inside of me.’

She then travelled on to Conservative Central Office, where she described it as an ‘an honour and a privilege to be the new leader of this great party’.

Of her priorities, Mrs May said: ‘Now, more than ever, we need to work together, to deliver on Brexit, to build a country that works for everyone, and to truly unite our Party and our country.

She added: ‘Last but not least, let’s not forget about the opposition. The Labour Party brought our country to the brink of bankruptcy and we can never let them do it again.

‘Whether it’s led by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown or Jeremy Corbyn, when Labour prospers the country suffers. So let’s make sure they don’t prosper. Let us redouble our efforts. And let us make sure we put this time to good use, to build the support we need to go to the country in four years’ time, and not just win, but win big.’

Mrs May is also expected to reward other loyal lieutenants from her time at the Home office. James Brokenshire – who has taken a series of bullets for Mrs May on immigration – is tipped for a job attending Cabinet.

Damian Green, who was Mrs May’s campaign spokesman, could also grab a Cabinet job. There is speculation the former journalist could be installed at the Department for Culture, media and Sport. The current post-holder, Brexiteer John Whittingdale, is expected to be eased out.

Chief whip Mark Harper also worked for Mrs May at the Home Office and could be in line for a Cabinet post.

Other key supporters include Brandon Lewis – tipped for Transport Secretary - Michael Ellis, Gavin Williamson and Sam Gyimah.

Asked if she expected Mrs May to promote some of the talented women in the party, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson yesterday said that she expected a ‘sizable reshuffle’.

But she added: ‘I think the best person for the job should always get the job.’

Addressing the British Bankers Association, Mr Hammond pledged to get the best possible deal for the City after Brexit.

He said: ‘Nobody has ever suggested that this is about Britain turning its back on Europe or on the wider world.

‘We know that access to the single market is crucially important to your interest. As we go into these negotiations we will be looking to secure the best possible access that we can.’