Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, arrives with solid sporting pedigree. Only a few days into his role, the Everton season ticket holder has already spoken out against FIFA’s controversial new investment proposals. His personal interest in sport has long translated, especially in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester into backing for sport, whether professional, mass participation, or active infrastructure. An Everton season ticket holder and multiple marathoner, he is, among other things, an advocate for active travel, a vocal supporter of northern England hosting an Olympics, of Bolton hosting the Ryder Cup, of Manchester United’s new stadium, of an independent football regulator of greater supporter ownership in football. In his days at DCMS he was the first minister in a decade to review the Crown Jewels list for free-to-air sporting broadcast.
Sport has often gone unmentioned in the halls of power, paid lip service only temporarily or when politicians are looking to win some support. And while Keir Starmer was a genuine football fan and player, just as Rishi Sunak was a keen cricketer, their premierships offered relatively little in terms of headline sporting policy. With Burnham, perhaps things will change. To that end, some of the Sporting Insights team reflected on what they’d like to see change in in Westminster’s investment in sport.
Erica Healy
If I was PM I’d like to create opportunities for people to get involved with the major sporting events hosted in the south without actually having to travel down to them. The cost of tickets, travel, accommodation and then F&B when you’re there can be huge, and even more so for a family group. I’m sure. a lot miss out on something they’d enjoy. I’m thinking of how we used to have the Reading Festival and then it became the Reading and Leeds festivals – dual hubs to allow more people to be included. Some events could possibly be replicated or split across multiple sites but having sporting events happen in two different places would generally be difficult or impossible, so I’m thinking more about official fan zone extensions instead.
In theory something like a Henman Hill of the north would be fun – set up just like Wimbeldon’s with the bandstand, Pimms, strawberries and cream etc, where people could watch on a big screen but at a fraction of the cost of a trip to Wimbledon. There could also be some courts for people to have a go at tennis if they wanted. This could work for other events too, e.g., Royal Ascot could have a remote enclosure (maybe the Duke’s Enclosure in York) or a Wembley-esuqe fan zone for the men’s / women’s FA Cup Finals (maybe with a VR element to make it feel more realistic). Government permissions and maybe a loan / profit share system would help organisers to test the water at a single location to begin with, expanding to other areas if successful.
Also, bring the Ryder Cup to Bolton!
Ben Brooks
I hope the new PM will make sport and physical activity a national priority by investing in accessible facilities, protecting community sports clubs, and ensuring every child has the opportunity to be active every day.
Ideally, Andy Burnham would champion policies that make exercise easier and more affordable for everyone, particularly in disadvantaged communities where participation rates are often lower.
I would have a focus on less intensive exercise, to promote movement, so look to expand walking and cycling infrastructure, followed by supporting grassroots sports organisations, and working with schools, employers and healthcare providers to promote active lifestyles.
If exercise and sport were treated as essential to both physical and mental wellbeing, this could improve public health, reduce pressure on the NHS, and build stronger, more connected communities, shifting focus away from the digital universe that consumes many of us.
Sarah Goward
I’d love to see us find a way to get people spending more time outdoors. I’m not even talking about organised sport necessarily, because I know that’s not everyone’s thing. I just think we’d all benefit from being outside more, fresh air, looking up instead of down at a screen, exploring, walking, playing, or just enjoying where we live.
The group I worry about most is children. It feels like so much of childhood now happens indoors and behind a screen, even when it comes to socialising. I don’t know what the answer is, or how you’d ever encourage it at scale, but I’d love to see a government make getting kids outdoors a real priority. I think if people spend more time outside, they’ll naturally be more active. And if children grow up seeing time outdoors as a normal part of everyday life, there’s a good chance they’ll carry those habits into adulthood too. Maybe we’d also end up with a generation that’s more connected to the nature and more invested in looking after it.
Edward Ferrari-Willis
I’m calling my proposal Project AWE (active Wednesdays everywhere). The idea does what it says on the tin, encourages everyone of every age to get active on Wednesday afternoons. In schools, this would mean academics take a back seat after lunch on Wednesdays in favour of time dedicated to sports training and coaches, an expanded set of inter-school fixtures, more different sports on offer so that everyone can find an activity they fall in love with.
For workers, employers would be encouraged to give extra paid time off every Wednesday afternoon on the single and simple condition that that time is used to exercise (easy enough to track now through fitness devices and apps) or to play or volunteer in organised sport.
The benefits are massive and varied. Social cohesion and a fitter, happier population, a massive expansion of intra and inter office leagues, more links between local sports venues and coaches and schools and workplaces. A massively reduced burden on the NHS.
Dare we even speculate a more productive rather than a less productive workforce, children enthused and exercised and ready to learn.
