Tyrone Mings, Priti Patel and lessons in leadership from the England Football team

Leaders take risks.

Taking risks requires courage, which can’t easily be faked (the word comes from “cor” — “heart” in Latin).

In the past, it was easier to judge a leader’s courage.

Leaders led their forces in battle. They were on the front lines. For example, a minority of Roman Emperors died in bed. Most died in war, coups or other armed conflicts.

In modern times, political leadership doesn’t involve taking personal risks. Politicians are usually insulated (physically and financially) from the real consequences of their decisions. Their incentives are less visible. There are notable exceptions — Jo Cox RIP.

Recent events have exposed very different models of leadership.

As the England team knelt on the pitch in the face of booing crowds, the PM refused to condemn those fans booing the players. The Home Secretary defended fans’ right to boo and dismissed the knee as “gesture politics.”

When the players were subjected to the racism they warned everyone about (and the world rallied behind them), those same ministers have now come out to defend the players. Unsurprisingly their condemnation now carries little weight.

The problem is this: the time to stand up and be counted was earlier in the tournament when there was more personal risk in doing so.

Setting an unambiguous standard at the very top of society would have sent a strong message about what we stand for: a confident, diverse, talented and values-driven vision for the future. To wait until public opinion has shifted — as politicians have now done — is simply expedient.

For athletes, their leadership has genuine consequences. They literally and figuratively have “skin in the game”. They pay the price daily with the risk to their careers and the constant barrage of abuse they face.

That’s why when they step onto the pitch, they’ve already won the battle. It doesn’t matter what the final result is. They’ve led and shown us the way.

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By nature, I’m an optimist and hope this episode paves the way for a better future.

Firstly, I hope that our athletes’ leadership on and off the pitch is a catalyst for more diverse and empathetic talent to enter politics.

And secondly, despite losing the match and the vile actions of a few that followed, I hope we galvanise ourselves as a society against racism and discrimination in all its forms.