I watched some of that, but didn't hear us mentioned.
David Burton-Sampson spoke, as follows :
"Football clubs command a special place in the hearts of their community and the hearts of their fans. Their continued success is key to the identity and community spirit of their areas, and local clubs bring a great deal of economic benefit. I know that is the case with my team, Southend United—the Shrimpers—in the heart of Southend and in my constituency.
Over recent years, under the former owner, Ron Martin, we nearly lost our club. Financial mismanagement left the club unable to meet its obligations. It was put up for sale, but in the meantime creditors queued up at the door waiting to be paid. The club was taken to court, had numerous deadlines and point deductions imposed on it by the national league and faced a winding-up petition due to debt owed to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
What are we talking about risking the loss of here? We are talking about a club that was formed in 1906 and that started its life on the current Roots Hall site before moving to the Kursaal during the first world war, before finally finding its way back to Roots Hall in 1955 to a ground built almost exclusively by the supporters’ club under the leadership of Sid Broomfield. It is a community asset to so many. It is a place where people come to share a common purpose, a place for community engagement and, for some, a place that gets them out of social isolation.
There is then the social impact of the club, estimated by the Shrimpers Trust to be worth £10.3 million annually. In one of its publications, the trust drew the following conclusions:
“Fans are not customers; we are the key stakeholders in the football clubs… Football clubs are not businesses, they are cultural heritage assets born of and represented by their communities”.
I am proud to see that this Bill tackles those issues head on. The Shrimpers Trust welcomes its provisions, while having some sensible suggestions to improve them further. I am glad to see that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has said that she will look at those in Committee.
It is disappointing that the Tories want to kill this Bill, despite it being in their manifesto. Fans are clear that they are not happy about that. A statement released just today by the Shrimpers Trust thanks Members on both sides of the House for the work that they have done so far, but it also says:
“We urge those parties to continue to work together to progress this legislation and…to listen to the fans as the game’s primary stakeholder, rather than be swayed by out-of-touch figures with vested interests”.
I welcome this Bill.
