Theresa May has urged Conservative Party staff to come together now the EU referendum is over to help her 'win big' in 2020.

The new Conservative leader has insisted the time is not right to call a snap election and renew the Tories' mandate under her banner - despite polls indicating a big lead and the chance of a large majority.

The most recent survey of public opinion revealed the Tories eight points clear - a lead Mrs May will expect to extend as she gets a honeymoon in office and Jeremy Corbyn faces a bitter civil war.

Mrs May told Cabinet this morning that the time was not right for an election because of the need to tackle Brexit and ensure leaving the EU is turned into a success for Britain.

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Conservative leader Theresa May tonight said farewell to Home Office staff after six years in charge, pictured, after visiting Tory HQ

Mrs May, pictured tonight in her final appearance at the Home Office, has ruled out a snap general election

And speaking at Tory HQ, Mrs May this afternoon paid tribute to David Cameron as a 'superb leader of our party and a superb Prime Minister'.

Mrs May told staff: '(You are) crucial to every campaign our Party runs. Without you, we wouldn't have won that great majority last year - our first in 23 years.

'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.'

The most recent opinion poll suggests the Conservative Party is already eight points clear of Labour - and Mrs May would expect to get a 'honeymoon' from voters that will increase the Tories' poll rating

An ICM survey published yesterday put the Conservatives on 38 per cent to Labour on 30 per cent.

A honeymoon among voters for the new Prime Minister is widely expected to see the Tory lead extend.

Mrs May's commitment at Cabinet was reported today by Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary.

After the meeting, he told waiting reporters: 'No, we had an election just a year ago for a full five year Parliament and we are only a year into that

'More importantly we had this European vote just a couple of weeks ago.

'That is the instruction the British people to get Britain out of the European Union and we have got to make a success of that.'

Mrs May made her final visit to Downing Street this morning as Home Secretary as she attended Cabinet. She will be formally appointed as Prime Minister tomorrow

Sources close to Mrs May then told the Evening Standard: 'There will be no election, the public does not have an appetite for it.

'They want our politicians to get on and do their job.'

Constitutionally, Mrs May is perfectly entitled simply to take up where Mr Cameron leaves off as long as she can continue to command a majority in the House of Commons.

Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the next election is not due to take place until 2020 unless the Government loses a vote of no confidence or there is a vote by MPs with a two-thirds majority in favour of an early election.

However, opposition MPs have complained that she lacks an electoral mandate of her own, particularly as she has signalled that she intends to pursue significantly different policies from Mr Cameron in some areas.

Jon Trickett MP, Labour's Election Co-ordinator, said: 'It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected Prime Minister.

'I am now putting the whole of the party on a General Election footing. It is time for the Labour Party to unite and ensure the millions of people in the country left behind by the Tories' failed economic policies, have the opportunity to elect a Labour government.'

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was 'simply inconceivable' that Mrs May should by crowned leader without even having had a proper election within her own party.

'The Conservatives must not be allowed to ignore the electorate. Their mandate is shattered and lies in ruins. Britain deserves better than this Tory stitch up,' he said.

'May has not set out an agenda, and has no right to govern. She has not won an election and the public must have their say.'

Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is already eight points behind and the continued chaos in his party is likely to further hit its poll ratings

On the Conservative side, some have argued that with Labour weak and divided, it is the ideal moment for an election which could leave the main opposition party shattered.

They point to the heavy price paid by Gordon Brown who never recovered from his decision not to go to the country when he became prime minister in 2007, despite having hinted that he was ready to call a snap election.

Most, however, would appear to agree with the veteran former cabinet minister Ken Clarke who said there was no appetite in the country for an election and that there were other priorities for Mrs May and her new team as they grapple with the fall-out from the vote to leave the EU .

'After the last month or two of campaigning, the idea of now having a general election - you'll have the entire public protesting,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

'We are following a long-standing constitutional practice. There are countless prime ministers who have taken over because they have got a parliamentary majority.