PM under pressure to explain how she will unite country post-Brexit

In today’s historic address to the Commons to confirm the triggering of Article 50, Theresa May spoke of her determination to secure a deal that will produce a “stronger” and “more united” Great Britain.

But her pledge was dismissed as “rhetoric” by Labour heavyweights, who argued that national unity still remains a “long, long way away”.

They warned that cohesion “must be earned and not just asserted”, and pressed the Prime Minister to set out “what she needs to do differently” to bring about harmony by the end of negotiations.

Addressing MPs to mark the formal start of the Brexit process, Mrs May acknowledged that the “momentous” event would be “a day of celebration for some and disappointment for others”.

“The referendum last June was divisive at times. Not everyone shared the same point of view, or voted in the same way. The arguments on both side were passionate,” she said.

But she vowed to use upcoming negotiations to create a “more united” country and secure “the right deal for every single person”. “As we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can – and must – bring us together,” she said.

This pledge was welcomed by the former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who said the final arrangement with the EU “must work for the 48% as well as the 52%”.

However, he went on argue that “national unity must be earned and not just asserted”, adding “it must be shown in deeds and not just in words”.

“We are a long, long way away from [unity], as I think she will agree,” the Doncaster North MP said. “As [the Prime Minister] reflects on the last eight months, can she say what she thinks she needs to do differently in the next 24 months to achieve that national unity, which, frankly, eludes us at the moment?”

His sentiments were echoed by the former Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who expressed concern about the SNP’s threats of a second Scottish independence vote.

Ms Cooper urged Mrs May to ensure “voices from all over the country are genuinely hear” in order to avoid becoming the Prime Minister “who unintentionally leads the break-up of Britain”.

“I know this Prime Minister does not want to see the break-up of the United Kingdom, but she will also know that holding us together requires more than just the rhetoric of unity,” she said.

“Will she therefore say what she will do in both the content and the style of her negotiations not to fuel further division [or] play into the hands of others?”