Unionists react to Rishi Sunak pledge to fight ‘very hard every day’ to protect the ‘precious’ union of the United Kingdom

The comment by Rishi Sunak was made publicly during the Prime Minister’s public question and answer session in Essex on Monday.

Only hours after being elected one the same day, newly elected Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said he would ask for a Section 30 order for a second Scottish independence refereundum “right away”.

But speaking in Essex on the same day, Rishi Sunak vowed to fight hard “every day” to stop Scotland’s new First Minister Humza Yousaf breaking up the UK.

Mr Sunak said that while the Scottish nationalists in the SNP “will do their thing”, he will battle to protect the “precious” union.“I am very clear that I passionately believe in our union... I care about our union, I think it is very precious,” he said.

"That idea that inspired my grandparents to emigrate here, the idea of what the United Kingdom stood for, what we were all about as a society, as a community, that is powerful, it is inspiring and I will fight very hard to protect it everyday that I am in this job.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s comments, TUV Ballymena councillor Matthew Armstrong said: “It’s a bit rich for Rishi Sunak to claim that he will fight ‘every day’ to prevent the new SNP leader breaking up the UK just days after his government trooped their MPs through the lobbies to vote for the Windsor Whitewash.

"Having abandoned part of His Majesty’s kingdom in a foreign single market, under foreign laws which no one in the UK makes or can change he is in no position to masquerade as a champion of the Union.”

DUP MLA Gordon Lyons said it was welcome that the Prime Minister cares about the integrity of the United Kingdom - but that his commitment “must be demonstrated across all regions”.

He added: “Devolution was restored in Northern Ireland in 2020 based on the Government’s pledge in the New Decade New Approach Agreement to protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK Internal Market.

"Fulfilling that outstanding commitment more than three years after it was made would be a practical demonstration of commitment to our “precious Union”.