There is only one leader who can slay the dragon of division in Brexit Britain. That is why we must ALL unite behind Mrs May

Intolerance and rancour won’t win over the Remainers We are and must remain a tolerant and open country. The views of all are valuable

IN THIS very unusual Election, many normal rules do not apply. We do not believe there is any need to wait until the end of the campaign to make it plain that we support the Conservative Party and urge our readers to vote to keep Theresa May in Downing Street.

Many think the result is a foregone conclusion, a guaranteed victory for the Government. But wisdom and experience tell us that nothing is certain in democratic politics, and we think it necessary to explain – from the very start – just why a Conservative vote is important and right.

Above all, once Mrs May has a mandate of her own, she will have the room for manoeuvre which she needs – to make a deal with the European Union which will reflect both the needs of the country and the desires of its people.

This, as we already know from the events of the past few months, is likely to be complicated and sensitive.

Brussels will not simply give us all that we want.

To get the best possible arrangement out of the EU, and to be able to stand firm when things get rough, Mrs May cannot be in the pocket of any faction. She must be able to speak for Britain as a whole.

This is why the issue of Brexit will run through every aspect of this campaign. It is this question which made Mrs May Prime Minister and caused the near-revolution in the Tory Party which followed the referendum. It is this question which lies behind her decision to go to the country, despite having a working majority that could have kept her in office for three more years.

The Mail on Sunday, like Mrs May herself, was in favour of remaining in the EU. Also like Mrs May, we recognise and accept the result of last year’s vote, and do not seek to rerun or overturn it. It is in that civilised and friendly spirit, and also because we wish to respect the opinions on this issue of those who took the other position, that we now set out our view.

This Election cannot and should not be a second referendum. No doubt the Liberal Democrats would like it to be, and they hope to attract support by trumpeting their defiance of last year’s vote. This is mistaken, and it is opportunism. Tories who took the Remain side cannot afford to encourage it.

They, and Tim Farron’s party, must know they cannot actually overturn the settled outcome. Democratic decisions must be respected, or chaos follows. We take part in elections and referwhich endums on the assumption that a majority is decisive for all. Civilised government would swiftly break down if we ceaselessly revisited every decision.

But that does not mean that 48 per cent of British voters can simply be dismissed and ignored. Their concerns can be addressed constructively to improve the deal we ultimately get, and perhaps to curb the wilder and more dogmatic Brexiteers who want a rapid and total exit at all costs – costs may fall on others more heavily than on them.

Intolerance and rancour will not bring the Remainers on board, let alone win them over. A clear willingness to listen to their concerns and recognise them as reasonable will do so. We are and must remain a tolerant and open country. The views of all are valuable. Nobody should be told to shut up.

Too much militancy will harm Mrs May’s Government and her chances of victory. She needs to avoid pandering to the more extreme elements of her own movement. For instance, any suggestion that Tory candidates have to be supporters of a hard Brexit to be selected should be rejected from the start. When the Tories were dominated by the pro-EU faction, no such ban ever applied to sceptics.

Unity in the divided Tory Party, and the country, can be achieved only if we continue to respect both sides of this

Labour’s long holiday from reality means the Tories can show their concern for the poor

divisive argument. Mrs May is especially well qualified to keep a grip on those in her party who are inclined to forget that not everyone in Britain agrees with them. She knows where the fault-lines run in the Tory Party, and – because she is not herself part of any faction – is able to speak to all sides with friendly authority.

This was her achievement so many years ago in warning her fellow Tories that they were widely seen as the ‘Nasty Party’ and were in danger of talking themselves out of power for ever. Few could now deny that her warning was heeded, and the Tories’ return to office owes much to her constructive and forceful intervention. They should not forget that now.

Her message now is unity. She seeks to be inclusive and to avoid civil war in her party and in the country. She has an appeal far beyond the party. Unlike so many of our recent political leaders, she is quite genuinely the voice of Middle Britain, not the mouthpiece of interest groups or the servant of extremists. She is bringing the country together because of who and what she is.

What is more, the reasonable acceptance of the majority’s will, which Mrs May has adopted as her position, is the essence of the Britishness which many Brexiteers went to the polls to support. We think such reasonableness should dominate the campaign; for it is the way in which we pursue our exit from the EU which is really under discussion now.

The Election gives us a chance to discuss this, to establish our priorities, in control of our borders, our laws and our economy. The complex issues of the City of London, the Customs Union, the Single Market, the importance of non-tariff barriers and the future role of the European Court of Justice cannot be decided in a few weeks of campaigning. But our general attitude towards them – of thoughtful compromise where necessary – can be.

This is just part of a wider opportunity. With the Cameron era gone, a reasonable Brexit under way and Mrs May’s more down-to-earth Toryism established, there is a great chance to discuss other issues facing our nation.

Labour’s decision to take a long holiday from reality has given the Tories the chance to demonstrate in practice that they are just as concerned for the poor and the disadvantaged as Labour ever were or claimed to be. In the same spirit in which she approaches Brexit, Mrs May can

Mrs May has the chance to become a truly national leader

float genuine new ideas about education – free at last to end the ban on academic selection.

There are many other areas of policy which have perhaps been too partisan for too long where she can apply her practical and pragmatic mind. We hope that she will.

On the other hand, her apparent decisions to abandon the triple lock on pensions, to refuse to rule out tax increases and simultaneously to cling to extravagant foreign aid commitments, are concerning. Our Survation poll today shows the Tory lead has already been halved.

At the same time, we regret that there is no viable opposition. It is bad for our democracy, and for politics in general, that there is no credible alternative Government.

This Election, several years before anyone expected it, could yet force the Labour Party to put itself back into commission, and to do its job properly at this crucial time in our history, when the whole future of the United Kingdom is at stake.

To the Prime Minister herself, we say: now is your chance to show your qualities and abilities in full. You would be wise to drop your resistance to debates with other party leaders – for you have little to fear from them and much to gain.

Now too is your chance to move beyond the narrow interests of Brexit hardliners, and to become a truly national leader at this historic moment.