Mrs May's pledge to not just help society's privileged few

In her first speech as Prime Minister, Mrs May spoke outside Downing Street to say she wants to fight against the “burning injustice” that exists in the country and to help not just the privileged few.

She said: “If you’re from an ordinary working class family life is much harder than many in Westminster realise.

“If you’re one of those families, if you’re just managing I want to address you directly. I know you’re working around the clock...I know sometimes life can be a struggle. The Government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives.”

After a short meeting with the Queen on Wednesday tea-time Mrs May became the country’s second ever female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher.

The 59-year-old former Home Secretary made her first address flanked by her husband Philip outside the door of No 10 soon afterwards.

While saying she would follow on from David Cameron’s modernising One Nation brand of Conservatism that had compassion and social justice at its heart she spoke for almost six minutes on helping the least well off in society.

This is well trod territory for the modern Conservative Party but Mrs May’s background as a vicar’s daughter may give her rhetoric a new coating of legitimacy.

Setting forth her views on Scotland and the class system in her opening remarks, she said: “The full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist party. And that word Unionist is very important to me. It means we believe in the union, the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“But it means something else that is just as important. It means we believe in a union not just between the nations of the United Kingdom but between all of our citizens. Everyone of us, wherever we are and wherever we are from.

“That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you’re born poor you will die on average nine years earlier than others.”

However without a mandatefrom a leadership election, and having ruled out a second General Election due to being one year into a fixed term Parliament, she is likely to face a number of challenges ahead.

As she delivered her first speech protesters who had assembled on nearby Whitehall could be heard chanting loudly over her statement.

Shouting “What do we want? Brexit. When do we want it now”, this right-of-the-party protest may be indicative of the hurdles ahead.