Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer visited Northampton Town on Monday and discussed his party’s vision for the future of the Football Governance Bill.
Described as a ‘historic moment for football fans’ by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Football Governance Bill seeks to address longstanding concerns about the financial sustainability of the game, ownership of clubs and the lack of fan involvement in the running of clubs.
Earlier in March this year, EFL Chair Rick Parry welcomed the arrival of the Football governance bill, which will establish the new Independent Football Regulator – as set out in February’s white paper – as a standalone body to promote financial sustainability. However, its progress has been paused following the announcement of the General Election.
As part of his campaigning for the upcoming General Election, Sir Keir met Northampton’s Chairman Kelvin Thomas and supporters representative Tom Cliffe to learn about the Club’s impact in the local community and to discuss the Football Governance Bill.
“As a Club we are politically neutral, but we agreed to the visit as it gave us a valuable opportunity to speak directly to the man who could become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom about our support for the Football Governance Bill and how it could help the Club and our work supporting the local community,” said Chairman Kelvin Thomas.
“This Is a very important issue, not just for us but for many Clubs up and down the country from the Premier League down. This is not just an EFL issue, this is a football wide issue.
“It was pleasing that during the conversation Sir Keir reaffirmed his support for the Football Governance Bill – as he has publicly many times before.”
During the visit, prospective parliamentary candidates for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby) and Northampton South (Mike Reader) were also present.
Thomas added: “I was really pleased that Tom Cliffe was able to join us for the meeting. His input as supporters representative is essential to our decision making as a Club and it was good to have Tom part of the conversation.
“We have long since gone on record to state our support for an independent regulator and whoever is elected on July 4th, we very much hope that legislation will be introduced early in the next parliament. It is important that, as EFL Clubs, we keep the matter on the agenda for politicians to ensure this happens. With that in mind, leaders of the other political parties are just as welcome to visit Sixfields at any time and we thank Sir Keir for his visit.”
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both committed to introducing an Independent Football Regulator.
The Tory manifesto says: “We will introduce laws to ensure our fans never again face the threat of clubs in England joining breakaway closed-shop competitions and giving them more of a voice through the Independent Football Regulator.”
While the Lib Dem manifesto has outlined “establishing the promised new independent regulator, placing it on a statutory footing, and giving it the power to impose a fairer financial flow that rewards well-run clubs” as part of its plan to “ensure a sustainable future for football clubs and give fans a stronger voice”.
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