The Labour Party today launched its 2017 Manifesto, For The Many, Not The Few, which set out a number of proposals targeted at sport and recreation. Some of the key policies had already been trailed – not least following the leak of the draft manifesto last week – and it’s good to see that sport and recreation still has a dedicated section in the document (despite being listed on page 99).
So what’s in the manifesto for the sport and recreation sector? If a Labour Government is elected on June 8th, the Party will:
· Encourage sport governing bodies to make rapid improvements on access provision for fans with disabilities;
· Legislate for accredited football supporters trusts to be able to appoint and remove at least two club directors and to purchase shares when clubs change hands;
· Enforce legislation to tackle ticket touts and implement the measures in Professor Waterson’s review, which aims to protect the consumer in the online ticket resale market;
· Ensure the Premier League delivers on its promise to invest 5 per cent of its television rights income into the grassroots games to help the next generation of players and coaches, and to improve facilities and pitches.
Commenting on the Labour Party Manifesto, Leigh Thompson, Policy Manager at the Sport and Recreation Alliance said: “The commitment Labour has shown to sport and recreation in the manifesto is needed but the Party could have gone further to maximise the role of sport and recreation, particularly the preventative and cost saving role it can play in tackling major health problems such as obesity and mental health.
“We would also like to have seen Labour extend the commitment to fund physical education and school sport from the Soft Drinks Levy to cover the lifetime of the next Parliament, as we set out in in our manifesto, and it is disappointing that this is not a feature of today’s announcement.
“Positively, the Labour Party has recognised the need for change in the secondary ticketing market. A lack of compliance with the law is an issue that effects a range of our members and we would urge any future Government to make sure that we have robust secondary ticketing measures which produces fairness for organisations and sports fans.
“While the manifesto sets out some constructive proposals, this is not the last word and we look forward to working with the future Government to make sure that the views of our members and the sector are heard and listened to.”
Labour also announced other commitments, which we reacted to last week. You can see this here along with our reactions to the parties’ key policy announcements.
