ABSTRACT
The Political Skills Framework: a councillor's toolkit for local councillors has some interesting comments, some of which could apply and be helpful to General Practitioners (GPs) leading GP consortia. The local leadership involves engaging with their community, canvassing opinion and looking for new ways of representing people. The local leadership also involves mediating fairly and constructively between people, grouping with conflicting needs, and acting as a champion for others by campaigning with enthusiasm, courage and persistence. The political understanding involves clearly representing the group's views and values through their decisions and actions, and communicating political values through canvassing and campaigning. The communication skills helps to regularly inform and communicate with their community using newsletters, emails, phone or local media. It creates opportunities to communicate with different sectors, including vulnerable and hard to reach groups, and helps to provide regular feedback to people, keeping them informed and managing expectations.
