Why the police and the Tories should beware of 'that woman' Theresa May Andrew Mitchell Whether it happened or not, there is something intensely believable about such an exchange, which goes to the root of the casual misogyny faced by women in public life. For one - there is no doubt Theresa May is "that woman from the Conservative party." There are so few senior Tory women that there is little room for confusion. The scene is also so familiar. An exclusively male setting, where the boys around the table speak of "that woman" and the problems she is causing. Theresa May, though, has one of the thickest skins in politics. When she was first announced as David Cameron's new Home Secretary, I remember the scoffing of male Conservative MPs. Immediately dismissed as a tokenistic promotion to boost the number of woman at Cabinet, Westminster bars were full of people jovially predicting her demise. Nobody is laughing now. Managing the impossible The Home Secretary has managed the impossible. She has not only survived a crisis at border control and forcing through 20 per cent budget cuts for the police, but emerged with her reputation enhanced. Today Mrs May is giving a speech at the College of Policy conference on trust and integrity, announcing a newly-empowered Independent Police Complaints Commission. It isn't an easy crowd - the message is unpopular and the force remains an extremely male-dominated organisation (remind you of the Conservative party?) But in recent months Mrs May has quietly consolidated her position not only as Home Secretary, but as a future leadership challenger. A contest is ruled out before 2015, but Conservative MPs are chattering about the possible succession if David Cameron loses the next election. Admittedly Mrs May doesn't have the star power of a candidate such as Boris Johnson. For some, she is too old (at 56), too frosty and not collegiate enough to be a realistic bet. There is truth in the latter concern: Mrs May is one of the most unclubbable politicians, which could affect her chances. She's never been part of the Westminster boys" club. Born a vicar's daughter and educated at Holton Park girls" grammar school, she went on to read geography at Oxford. Unlike David Cameron and George Osborne, she didn't head straight for SW1, working at the Bank of England and as a councillor before winning a parliamentary seat third time around. Media star? She is also not a natural media performer, often looking uncomfortable in front of the cameras. One of her best performances, though, was during a recent Sky News interview with Eamonn Holmes. She was on to talk about immigration policy, but Holmes threw her a curveball - asking her view on footballer Jack Wilshere's comments that only people born in England should play for the country. It's the sort of deceptively-soft-but-actually-very-tricky question that leaves some politicians floundering. Mrs May responded, without missing a beat, by saying: "This is not the sort of confession that politicians usually make, but I'm not a great football fan," before going to on praise Mo Farah as an athlete proud to wear the GB shirt. Very smart. The idea of Mrs May as a future leader is still met with derision among some of her Conservative colleagues. One told me: "She'll get the support of the sisterhood - Cheryl Gillan, Caroline Spelman and so on. But she's not a serious contender - she doesn't have the backing. Like the flippant "that woman" jibe from the police - references to the Conservative "sisterhood" are very revealing. Women in the Conservative party are seen by some as a separate group to the rest of the MPs - not to be trusted. So does Theresa May have a real shot at winning the leadership? She's not the perfect candidate, by any means. But I can't help thinking the people who are rubbishing and mocking her chances are the very same as the ones who predicted she would crash and burn as Home Secretary.