Union is one issue on which May got it right

THERESA May’s premiership has been punctuated by missteps.

If there was a mistake to be made, Mrs May usually made it. Her failure to attempt to build consensus around Brexit and her politically catastrophic decision to call a snap election in 2017 and then all but abandon campaigning are just two of the errors that ensured her time in 10 Downing Street was limited.

However, when it came to the preservation of the United Kingdom, Mrs May maintained admirable clarity. As Prime Minister, she stood with the majority of Scots who voted No in the 2014 referendum and who continue to reject the SNP’s poorly thought-through proposals for independence.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson built support for her party by pledging to oppose a second referendum. Miss Davidson was able to do this with confidence because she knew the Prime Minister shared her profound belief that all constituent parts of the United Kingdom are made stronger by the historic partnership.

Yesterday, in a speech in Stirling, Mrs May warned that the ‘first and greatest duty’ of her successor – either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt – must be to protect the integrity of the UK.

Front-runner Mr Johnson and his rival Mr Hunt have both spoken during the current leadership campaign about their commitment to the United Kingdom.

But while it is easy to say the right thing on this subject, doing the right thing may be more difficult.

Polling of Tory members – the tiny minority who will select the next Prime Minister – revealed the troubling truth that a majority prioritised the delivery of Brexit over the maintenance of the Union.

Inevitably, both Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt are playing to the Conservative Party gallery rather than the wider nation right now but it is a concern that, once this contest is over, the victor will remain in thrall to supporters for whom the Union is not a priority.

Mrs May’s speech yesterday was clearly aimed at both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. The country will hope they were listening, carefully.

The protection of the United Kingdom must, as Theresa May said, be the priority of the next Prime Minister.