Theresa May has held Ruth Davidson’s hand aloft in front of a cheering crowd at the Tory conference and declared: “Together we saved the Union.”

The Prime Minister, who appeared to be in a boisterous mood, told a Scottish Conservative reception that the general election result in Scotland had demolished the SNP’s dream of a second independence referendum.

In a move that will be seen as an attempt to capitalise on Ms Davidson’s popularity and success, she acknowledged the Tories did not achieve “the overall result we wanted” but argued her decision to call the election preserved the UK.

Mrs May had earlier said the change in the Tories’ fortunes in Scotland had been “monumental” this year, with the party increasing its tally of MPs from one to 13.

The disaster for the SNP, which saw them lose 21 MPs including Alex Salmond and Angus Robertson, forced Nicola Sturgeon to postpone her referendum plans, with no prospect of another vote before the 2021 Holyrood election.