The Providence Journal (R.I.), July 13:

Is the United Kingdom, long an important ally of America, about to experience the second coming of the Iron Lady?

That’s what some British analysts and commentators are speculating, now that Theresa May, a pragmatic, strong-willed economic conservative, has been named Britain’s new Tory Party leader.

Ms. May had the overwhelming support of Tory members of Parliament, and became prime minister on Wednesday when David Cameron officially resigned.

In truth, it is far too early to tell whether Ms. May is going to be the next Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s last woman prime minister, who was known as a tough and articulate, if divisive, leader. Hopes are high, though, that Ms. May will bring stability to the highly unstable economic and political situation in the U.K.

Ms. May, 59, has been a Tory politician for nearly two decades. She was first elected in 1997, and has held the parliamentary seat in the constituency of Maidenhead (in the county of Berkshire) since that time.

A former city council member who once worked for the Bank of England, she has worn many hats in politics.

Ms. May was involved in various shadow cabinets, when the Tories sat in opposition during Labor governments under then- Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. For example, Ms. May was the shadow leader of the House of Commons, and shadow secretary of state in different positions, including transport, sport, families, and work and pensions.

When Mr. Cameron formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, she was given two important ministerial roles. She was the longest-serving home secretary (which deals with policing and national security) in more than six decades, and formerly held the position of minister for women and equalities.

Ms. May’s political and economic leanings seem to be, on the surface, fairly similar to Mr. Cameron’s.

She’s been described as a “liberal conservative,” a strong supporter of the free market economy while also holding liberal views on social issues such as same-sex marriage. That is quite different from Margaret Thatcher’s rock-ribbed social and economic conservatism.

Another intriguing aspect of Ms. May’s ideology is that she was a strong supporter of the Remain campaign during Brexit. Much like Mr. Cameron, she wanted Britain to stay in the European Union. But she has made clear she respects the will of the voters.

In the scramble for power during the last few weeks after the Leave forces triumphed, a surprising number of once mighty players in British politics (Tory members of Parliament Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, and U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage) resigned, were betrayed by colleagues or fell on their swords. Andrea Leadsom, who briefly became the de facto leadership candidate of Leave, also joined this political scrap heap.

The end result is that Ms. May, a Remain supporter, will negotiate on behalf of Britain when it withdraws from the European Union.

That would seem to be a thankless task for the incoming prime minister. But it probably gives millions of concerned citizens some comfort that an experienced and talented figure, whose politics are similar to Mr. Cameron’s, will be overseeing this procedure to help protect Britain’s free market legacy and economic future.