A candidate to take on SNP’s Yellow Wall

IT’s a message that will gladden the heart of every Unionist – a call for unity after years of bitter division.

Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt sets out her stall in today’s Mail, throwing down the gauntlet to Nicola sturgeon and vowing to break through the sNP’s Yellow Wall.

Too often, Westminster politicians of all parties have been guilty of underestimating the Nationalist threat, attempting to appease separatist sabre-rattling by handing over ever more powers.

There’s a sense that they don’t understand how the sNP machine operates and – as is clear by the pattern of devolving yet more responsibility to the scottish Government – are clueless about how to fight it.

That means that all too often those on the front line of the battle to defend the Union in scotland have been left with one hand tied behind their backs by their Westminster colleagues.

so Miss Mordaunt deserves great credit for recognising not only the peril this great nation faces but for acknowledging who is best placed to take the fight to the sNP.

By accepting that the challenge must ‘always’ be led by Douglas Ross and his MsPs, Miss Mordaunt provides a balm to the sometimes troubled relationship between the scottish Conservatives and certain Westminster counterparts.

Moreover, her promise that, if she becomes Prime Minister, support for Mr Ross would flow from Number 10 down will be welcomed by everyone invested in protecting our union of nations.

How long has it been since a senior Conservative politician in London spoke seriously and credibly about the possibility of the scottish Tories driving the Nationalists out of power?

The sNP’s long record of failure means its electoral lead is far from unassailable – while flip-flopping Labour can’t be trusted for one moment to safeguard the Union.

The contest to replace Boris Johnson is in its early stages, but it’s encouraging that all of the major players have taken a firm stand against a second referendum. There is a clear recognition that the future of the Union is a priority, and that failure against the sNP simply isn’t an option.

Miss Mordaunt’s plan brings to the succession battle a real sense that the Nationalist hegemony is finite – and can be successfully challenged.

The stakes are high, but the prize is great – a wealthier scotland, free of the poison and bile of separatism that have held us back for so long.