As the British pound recovered from its Brexit swoon and European leaders met in Brussels for a two-day summit, good news emerged for U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May.
A new poll for The Times showed May is the favorite among Conservative Party voters to replace Prime Minister David Cameron. The YouGov poll showed May, whom Fortune wrote about last week, is the preference of 31% of conservative voters. Some 24% back Boris Johnson, the brash ex-journalist and former London mayor. The result was a big switch from an April poll, which showed 36% backed Johnson and 14% had a preference for May. Those betting on the outcome at William Hill, Ladbrokes and Betfair backed her yesterday as well.
May, who’s been little known outside the U.K. until now, has the support of some of Cameron’s supporters and is viewed as having a steady hand. The Guardian, which once compared her to “a calm headmistress in a chamber full of over-excitable public school boys,” recently cast her as a “Stop Boris” candidate. And the Financial Times says the momentum has swung in her favor. A decision is expected in early September.
In her current job, May is responsible for the hot-button issue of immigration. While she has not met her party’s promises to cut net immigrant inflows to below 100,000 a year, her calm demeanor is one the U.K. could use right now.
Laura Cohn