Will ‘tough’ Theresa May be a unifying post-Brexit PM

Britain’s tough-talking interior minister Theresa May has avoided the Conservative party in-fighting that dominated the EU referendum campaign, making her a strong contender to replace leader David Cameron as premier.May is now leading three candidates left in the race along with Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom, who will be whittled down to two by Conservative MPs on Thursday before the vote goes to party members.Although a long-standing eurosceptic and hardliner on immigration, May declared herself officially in favour of Britain staying in the European Union -- but kept a low profile during the divisive campaign.The 59-year-old trod a fine line between remaining loyal to Cameron and the “Remain” campaign, while appeasing Conservative Party members who wanted to quit the EU and clamp down on immigration.

“Following last week’s referendum, our country needs strong leadership to steer us through this period of economic and political uncertainty,” May said in launching her bid last week.“We need a bold, new positive vision for the future of our country,” said May, while stressing there was no going back on the vote to leave the European Union.“Brexit means Brexit,” she said, adding that she does not plan to invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for leaving -- before the end of the year.Many Conservative lawmakers agree.In the last ballot on Tuesday, she received 165 votes.Former contenders Liam Fox and Stephen Crabb, who received a total of 50 votes, both lent their support to her campaign.