Nicky Morgan considering standing for Tory leadership when David Cameron quits

The Prime Minister has said he plans to step down before the next General Election

Ms Morgan, who replaced Michael Gove as Education Secretary burnished her moderate credentials, pledging to back the UK’s membership of the EU come what may (EPA)

Britain’s second female Prime Minister could be another Conservative, after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she was considering standing when David Cameron quits.

Mr Cameron has said he plans to step down before the next election, meaning his replacement would be Prime Minister for perhaps a year before the 2020 vote. In an interview with the Spectator magazine, Ms Morgan said: “I hope that, in the not-too-distant future, there will be another female leader of a main Westminster political party.”

She said she represented “a part of the country that I think is incredibly down-to-earth”.

“It wants good schools, good hospitals, solid economy, support for those who have started businesses and wants to know that the government is on their side,” she said.

However, Ms Morgan, who has a seven-year-old son, said a major factor in her decision on whether to stand would be the effect on her family life.

“I’d be saying this if I was male or female – in the sense that being leader of the party is so all-consuming, putting such a pressure on family relationships,” she said.