As he delivered those words, Mr Cameron had little idea that the next Prime Minister to whom he referred would be in place – his place – barely 72 hours later.
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He said Ms May will take the keys to No 10 by Wednesday evening (Thursday NZ time) and that he was “delighted” that the Home Secretary would succeed him in Downing Street.
David Cameron is preparing to move out of Number 10 on his penultimate day as Prime Minister, after an emotional final Cabinet meeting.
He had just confirmed that he would offer his resignation to Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday afternoon and that his successor Theresa May would “be in that building behind me by Wednesday evening”.
Small-business minister Anna Soubry said Mr Cameron began by discussing how to tackle the problem of deprivation – an issue he had raised at the start of his premiership.
It leaves May with a drastically shortened window to decide on a leadership team.
May said Monday that her priorities including uniting the country and creating a “strong, new, positive vision for the future” that included not just the privileged few.
Cameron announced he would resign by October following the June 23 referendum, in which the country voted to pull out of the European Union.
She must provide some calm in a political malestrom and said: “Brexit means Brexit”.
Flanked by armed police, a van from Simply Removals UK Ltd arrived at the back of Downing Street to drop off 330 storage boxes while PM-designate Theresa May posed for pictures in front of the famous black door.
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The pound has rallied against the dollar in the wake of the news that May would become prime minister, bringing a measure of political stability sooner than expected.
