With Britain bitterly divided over its future it may seem out of step with the nation’s mood to erect a statue to the politician who coined the phrase ‘One Nation’.

But campaigners say that is precisely why the country should honour the former Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.

They are calling for a statue to the man most closely associated with the philosophy of ‘One Nation Conservatism’ - describing the party’s responsibility for the welfare and prosperity of all sections of society - to be erected in his Worcestershire constituency.

The campaign has now received a boost from Prime Minister Theresa May, who has agreed to become patron of the Stanley Baldwin Statue Appeal to raise £150,000 towards the cost.

In a letter to Lt Col Patrick Holcroft, the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, she said: “Stanley Baldwin should be recognised as one of the most significant figures of twentieth-century British politics.