THERESA May accused Gordon Brown of “running scared” when he refused to hold a General Election in 2007.

This was after Mr Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister without a vote.

Labour last night branded Mrs May’s installation into Number 10 a “coronation” and said it was crucial that Britain had a democratically elected leader.

A remarkable turn of events over the past few weeks means the Home Secretary will become Britain’s second female prime minister tomorrow evening after David Cameron takes his final questions in the House of Commons.

Mr Cameron, Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Michael Gove and George Osborne – the big hitters in last month’s EU referendum campaign – now look like yesterday’s men, while women are set to become the leading political figures in the UK, Germany, and potentially later this year, in the US.

A snap General Election could bolster the legitimacy of Mrs May’s premiership. She has dropped a heavy hint, however, that she will wait until 2020 before going to the polls. Her campaign manager, Chris Grayling, believes the last thing the country needs now is another period of instability.

She is well within her rights to sit tight, but is Mrs May missing a trick?

It is hard to imagine Labour will be in greater disarray come 2020 and, without Mr Farage as its outspoken figurehead, UKIP’s profile has taken a dip.

Early opinion polls suggest that Mrs May would wipe the floor with Jeremy Corbyn if a General Election was called tomorrow and secure a thumping majority for her party.

Instead of grasping the opportunity in front of her, however, it would appear she has the confidence to hold her nerve and present herself as a long-term solution to Britain’s power vacuum rather than be a mere stopgap leader.