Political Opinion: Why stakeholders count - Rugby MP brings faith leaders together

They are individuals and organisations who ‘hold’ a stake - in other words, who have an interest in a particular aspect of our local, regional, or national community.

Since the beginning of my political career, I have always tried to engage as many stakeholders as possible - whether as an activist, a councillor, or now as an MP.

So, who are they?

At one end of the spectrum, every citizen is a stakeholder - everyone has an interest in the events and people that impact them.

More traditionally, they are informal groups, organisations, and civic institutions.

The concerned residents on Technology Drive who wrote to me about broken lampposts are stakeholders. They have an interest in making sure their estate is a pleasant place to live. Clubs such as the Police Cadets, Warwickshire Police, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue, local councillors, civic institutions, libraries, charities, sports clubs, and local businesses are all stakeholders. And the list goes on. One of the real privileges of my role is meeting them all during the half of the week I spend in Rugby.

They all have an interest in things that impact them. And as an MP, I have some influence to try to help them with that.

I have long felt that one of Rugby’s strengths is its diversity and that we are a constituency at ease with ourselves. Different faith groups and ethnicities peacefully co-exist, get on with one another, and mix together.

However, we must never be complacent. I salute all those people - and yes, stakeholders - who work to bring people together from different backgrounds and promote community cohesion.

These people include faith leaders of every denomination and also community activists or just citizens who simply care about our community.

I don’t take this for granted. I saw the events over summer, and I see simmering tensions across the country. I know how easily this can spill over. Only on Saturday, we saw a large march in London that while largely peaceful, resulted in a small minority committing acts of violence against the police. The marchers were addressed by foreign billionaire Elon Musk, who called for “revolutionary government change” and said “violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.”

Clearly these are troubled times being inflamed by people at home and abroad who seek to stoke anger and manipulate it for their own interests or simply to gain power.

I see my role as a community leader: to do everything I can to bring people together, to help them understand one another, and to uphold the highest standards and traditions of our British culture - tolerance, respect for the rule of law, mutual respect, liberty, and democracy.

As someone who is outward-looking, who believes in international diplomacy and learning languages, I have had the good fortune to travel and work abroad. I recognise the importance of trying to understand other cultures and faiths.

In my view, we have as much to learn from the world as we have to teach.

Given recent tensions, this week I have decided to bring together as many faith leaders from across the constituency for the first of what I hope will be many meetings. The simple purpose is to explore the many ways that I can strengthen the bonds between us, facilitate communication, deepen understanding, and share our challenges and opportunities - not just in matters of faith, but in the wider community.

I hope this inaugural meeting will lead to further engagement with others who care about these issues.

In this instance, it is my meeting - but if it is successful, I hope to hold a wider meeting of… you guessed it… stakeholders.

Because our stake in the future of our community must not only be preserved but strengthened. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by coming together, working together, and above everything else, recognising that we can achieve much more when we seek to understand one another’s differences while focusing on our commonalities.

I take my responsibility, as an elected politician, seriously. We all have a responsibility to build a strong community that unites all its members.