Phantom MP wins public imagination

A poll for Times Radio has shown that 47% of adults are aware of the Labour frontbencher Fiona Wilson – 15% even have a favourable view of her.

The only thing is, she doesn’t exist.

Invented by the survey, Ms Wilson managed to garner more recognition that real-life shadow culture secretary Thangham Debbonaire and shadow cabinet office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds.

People really have had their fill of politicians haven’t they? They now just blend into an indistinguishable mass. This apathy doesn’t bode well for the next General Election.

But what really tickled me about this was that it shows how readily our minds gloss over the details when the topic is a bit dull.

‘Fiona Wilson’ seems very parliamentary, I can see her now with her navy M&S blazer and big glasses. You can imagine someone agreeing to having heard of just so they can get back on with their day.

But this tendency to skip past the detail obviously isn’t so funny when we’re trying to get people to take in important information about their financial plans. And of course, it's not just about grabbing their interest to begin with, but about maintaining their focus throughout their journey with you.

We all know our attention spans are shot to pieces these days, but there’s the added challenge of clients being distracted by external factors, reading the wrong things into them and jumping to alarming conclusions.

And it’s not just market fluctuations. I came across another example this week, of a client who’d taken one look at the mandatory comparison on their pension recommendation and asked if she was now getting an annuity – the comparative figure being low and grabbing her attention, and the word 'annuity' sparking some sort of recognition.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. This is where having your own regular email newsletter, where you can keep reinforcing the message of reassurance and correcting misinformation is so important.

Ultimately, it's about maintaining control — over the story, over the details, and ultimately, over the outcomes.

In a world inundated with distractions and misinformation, alarming headlines and fake news, the opportunity to continue the dialogue with them in this way, guiding them through the intricacies of their financial plans, on your terms, is real gift. Use it wisely.

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