All these qualities will be needed in abundance as the Prime Minister confronts a recrudescence of Islamic terrorism. We can’t know whether the Westminster atrocity is one in a sequence of intermittent attacks, or whether it will soon be followed by others. If Khalid Masood had arrived recently in Britain from Syria there would probably be less cause for alarm. Yet he was born in this country and lived here for 52 years. Mrs May was admirably calm and resolute in the immediate aftermath of the outrage. She struck the right note in a way Mrs Thatcher could scarcely have surpassed. Words, though, are one thing, decisive action another. Margaret Thatcher did not flinch in the face of the IRA terrorism, even when her own life was threatened. Theresa May will need all of her predecessor’s nerves of steel.

Her approach to politics is, above all, one of serious intent. After Nicola Sturgeon had opportunistically announced that she was seeking a second Scottish referendum, Mrs May’s response was telling: “Politics is not a game.” It may be a game for the Scottish Nationalists. It was most certainly, in her view, a game for George Osborne and David Cameron, who are in her mind essentially frivolous. Such people do chop and change jobs at the drop of a hat in the hunt for fame or riches. Mr Osborne sees nothing wrong with taking on a newspaper editorship and lucrative City sinecures while remaining an MP. But it’s not a game for Theresa May. It’s a calling. A mission, almost. In that she does have a lot in common with Margaret Thatcher.

Anne Jenkin thinks, “We’re incredibly lucky that she came along at the right time. Somebody, somewhere was watching us.” I know what she means. At this uncertain and sometimes rather scary juncture in our history, Theresa May is a deeply reassuring presence. We will have to wait and see whether she is also an effective one.