Sunak was among those who paid tribute, saying that May “defines what it means to be a public servant.” Her predecessor David Cameron, who now serves as foreign secretary, added: “She has been the most dedicated of public servants. The House of Commons will miss her.”
Andrew Gimson, author of “Gimson’s Prime Ministers,” says of May: “At heart she was a very decent person who always did her best. Unfortunately, her best was not enough.”
At the outset of her premiership, May’s vista appeared promising. As she stood on the steps of Downing Street she promised to end the “burning injustices” she felt bedeviled Britain at the start of the new century. She portrayed herself as a smart, meritocratic grammar school girl, in contrast to the empty charm of her Eton-educated predecessor David Cameron.
She had chafed against Cameron during her six years serving him as home secretary, an unprecedented tenure in a role which, before and since, has been seen as a poisoned chalice.
Gimson said: “I admired her as home secretary, when she really stood up to the Americans over the extradition of Gary McKinnon, and really stood up for herself in Cabinet. To last that long in such a difficult department, with a bureaucracy that had been labeled ‘not fit for purpose’ was very impressive.”
Strong home secretary
At the Home Office, she was criticized for introducing a “hostile environment” for immigrants, a phrase she later said she regretted, but was admired for her staunch outlook in the face of several terrorist attacks.