John Manley. Irish News (Belfast). Tuesday, July 12, 2016

In the run-up to last month’s EU referendum Theresa May jetted into the north to lend her support to the Remain campaign.

Her visit didn’t spark a great deal of attention, probably reflecting a degree of weariness among journalists but also a general lack of interest in the home secretary on this side of the Irish Sea.

That was little over three weeks ago, when staking a modest bet on Mrs May becoming prime minister before the end of July would have yielded a generous retirement fund.

As far as Northern Ireland goes, the Tory leader-in-waiting is something of an unknown quantity. The recent flying visit notwithstanding, her association with the region has been limited.

However, one episode the new prime minister won’t like to be reminded of is a BBC radio interview in 2010 during the ill-fated Conservative-UUP tie-up.

Asked to name any of the candidates running under the cumbersome UCUNF banner, the home secretary drew a blank.

The Stormont parties subsequently engaged extensively with Mrs May during the protracted negotiations around the operation of National Crime Agency.

However, these talks were conducted behind closed doors, without the usual megaphone diplomacy which characterises much of the north’s politics.

While at no stage has Mrs May made anti-peace process pronouncements akin to one-time leadership rival Michael Gove, she is a law and order-loving Tory and the natural sympathies of her party lie with unionism.

Nationalists have so far been measured in their assessment of Britain’s next premier, indicating a degree of discretion and a sense they’ve yet to make their full assessment.

Her choice of secretary of state will be keenly awaited, with the likelihood that Theresa Villiers will lose her job.

However, Mrs May’s appointment is unlikely to signal any sudden shift in her government’s Northern Ireland policy, especially during a period of such uncertainty.