We need to unite as a country during this time of crisis - Daxa Patel

As I write this, we have our 57th Prime Minister, and the third PM this year, without a General Election so most of us have not had a say in who becomes our PM.

There is a sense of déjà vu that we have been here before, yet we haven’t, have we?

The appointment of Rishi Sunak, as our PM is a significant milestone for this country which cannot be understated. The glass ceiling has been broken and while some of us may not agree with his politics his appointment as the first ever person of brown skin, and of Indian origin is a moment to behold and savour.

Some may say this was well overdue, but why not say better late than never. I confess, I did not expect to see this in my lifetime, and I am not that old.

However, I am thrilled to see this day come just as I was thrilled to see Margaret Thatcher as our first ever female PM. We should celebrate this achievement rather than lament the painful past.

I doubt very much I will see a non-white leader anywhere else in Europe so in that respect our country has made a bold statement. This country should take credit for this.

I share the same faith as our PM, and I too feel just as proud of this country as he does.

Those of us whose parents or grandparents came to this country will always carry a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunities we've been afforded here.

Serendipity was at play with the timing of this appointment coming at Diwali. I thank this country for breaking down barriers and acknowledge that the Conservative Party and, not the Labour Party, enabled us to have our first female and first Asian Prime Ministers.

Coming back to the matter of magnanimity in leadership, I want to congratulate Rishi Sunak on his appointment as the Prime Minister of this country, and secondly, I pray he finds the strength and the courage, to bring unity, compassion and healing for our country which it so deserves, and badly needs.

As a country we suffered too many casualties during the pandemic, far too many, and the fault lines in our health and social care were laid bare.

No doubt we will hear more about this during the Covid inquiry but what we do know is that it is not just the Conservative Party that is in existential crisis, but as a nation we are in crisis.

The new PM faces challenges on many fronts so there is no room for complacency on his part and his leadership team but we too need to play our part.

I would like to see magnanimity from the Opposition and their leaders. Opposition for the sake of brownie points is simply cheap. What we need is constructive challenge and accountability.

In an ideal world, a General Election should have happened given the ruling party’s ‘civil war’, and failure to govern, but we are not in an ideal place.

There are more food banks in this country than before, and more children in poverty, more elderly who are neglected and more patients waiting for basic health care.

Ours is not an underdeveloped country so politicians should stop making excuses but leaders in all services need to question, are they justifying their powerful position? Or do they want to make a real difference?

The public finances are not in a great position, the markets were spooked by the upset of the last few weeks.

Sunak may be young and not as flamboyant as Johnson, but right now what this country needs is a serious politician who is not in politics for power and money but is in it to help.

The first step to helping those in need, is to park judgement and blame, and make their situation tolerable and hopefully better.

The PM has promised professionalism, accountability and integrity. That’s good but we need to see this from all politicians and leaders of all service sectors. Yes, the new PM is wealthy, that too is good, at least we know he is not in this for the money.

The candidates who dropped out of the leadership race said after wasting time, that they were acting in the national interest.

That is truly questionable but, let that be and focus on how we can pick ourselves up and unite as one.

Healing comes when we park our differences so that we can extricate our great nation from the current existential crises. We can make an active choice to give our new PM the benefit of the doubt and help him make good his promise to the nation. Besides, we owe that much to our ancestors and children.

Daxa Manhar Patel is a solicitor, author and executive coach.