Leadership requires more than just a position of power. For it to be a position of real authority, people must respect the leader and share in his or her vision and values.
There is no more testing position than that of Prime Minister but we are fortunate to have a constitutional monarchy. Her Majesty, the Queen, is our Head of State and she symbolises and represents the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In comparison, the Prime Minister is considered to be a more humble figure whether or not the person holding the position agrees.
We have had a remarkable holiday to celebrate the life and times of our Head of State and I could not imagine a president or any political figure uniting the country in any comparable way.
Speaking of political unity, as I write, a vote of confidence has been announced by Sir Graham Brady on whether Boris Johnson remains leader of the Conservative Party. This is a difficult decision for any Member of Parliament and I always reflect on the interests of my constituents before any vote but this one is more momentous than most.
When this article has been published, I expect to be mired in speculation of what the vote really meant and how our political and national divisions can be healed.
Political divisions can, to many, seem remote and not relevant to the concerns of daily life but the problems of the increasing digital divide do matter.
We have all seen the changing face of our high streets. Shops that have been there for generations disappear to be replaced with new services. High streets are becoming increasingly specialised and are less about shopping for essentials but now have more restaurants, bars and beauticians.
These changes have been driven by customer demand. A shop can only remain open if they have the customers to pay the staff wages and make a little profit for the owner.
People are increasingly buying goods online and looking to the high street for an event or activity. One of the problems with this is that not everyone has access to the internet or is comfortable with using it to buy basic products. This is a particular problem with our high street banks.
Most high streets have now lost many, if not all, of their banks and those that remain are under threat. Those services are being withdrawn to our larger town centres so are still accessible if less convenient.
The banks are in tough competition against one another, want to reduce costs and see the high street as an opportunity for savings. It is frustrating that some banks have deliberately reduced the services provided, or at least the hours when they can be accessed, to force people on-line and enable more closures.
People want politicians to act but the most important thing that we can all do is to use the banks whilst we have them and use cash not cards.
This article was originally published in the Wigan Observer on 9th June.
