Leicestershire MP’s back a review of standing at football grounds
Did you know that Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South) put forward the following Early Day Motion (EDM) to the House of Parliament:
STANDING AREAS AT FOOTBALL GROUNDS 15.11.2006
That this House urges the Government to re-examine the case for introducing small, limited sections of safe standing areas at football grounds; further urges the Government to recognise that there is widespread support for such areas, and that improvements in stadium design and technology mean that with rigorous safety specifications standing areas could be safely re-introduced; and calls on the Minister concerned to convene a meeting of representatives of the police, supporters, Premier League clubs and the Football Licensing Authority to find a way forward.
The following MP’s had signed the motion before I lobbied our Leicestershire MP’s:
Mr S Dorrell Conservative (Charnwood) Sir P Soulsby Labour (Leicester South)
As a direct result of lobbying the following three more Leicestershire MP’s have now signed:
Mr D Taylor Labour (North West Leicestershire)
Mr David Tredinnick Conservative (Bosworth)
Mr Keith Vaz Labour (Leicester East)
I have also established that the following MP’s are precluded from signing due to their position in the house:….
Mr A Reed Labour Loughborough – As a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Treasury Committee he is unable to sign any EDMs.
Ms Patricia Hewitt Labour (Leicester West) – As Health Secretary (a Ministerial Position) it precluded her from signing (although in an email to me, Patricia did say ‘I wish you the best of luck in encouraging my colleagues across Leicestershire to sign it’ – which arguably suggests that she is pro the EDM.
Biggest breakthrough: The biggest break through came from Harborough MP Mr Edward Garnier (Conservative) who said:
"As a front bench spokesman (he is Shadow Affairs Minister) I cannot sign EDMs unless they have been approved by the relevant spokesman, since my signature will suggest Conservative Party support as opposed merely to my personal support. As soon as I have a moment I will ask the Shadow Secretary of State for CMS to look at this EDM and to let me know if he is happy to bind the Conservative front bench to it. I cannot see that he will object but I cannot guarantee that he will be able to respond within minutes!"
Edward Garnier subsequently got the green light from the Shadow Culture Secretary Hugo Swire MP (for East Devon) which now implies full Tory backing for this EDM! Edward Garnier’s PA then emailed me to say Mr Garnier has spoken to the Shadow Secretary of State for CMS and will be signing this EDM as soon as possible. (He will be in Iraq all next week and will be back in the Commons on Monday 5 February).
Leicestershire MP's still to sign:
Unfortunately the following Leicestershire MP’s have yet to reply to me:
Mr Andew Robathan Conservative – Blaby ([email protected])
Mr Alan Duncan Conservative – Rutland And Melton ([email protected])
How can I help?
If you are in the constituency of either of the above two MP’s then please write to them (the email addresses are detailed above).
If you live outside of Leicestershire please request your MP to sign (after checking the link below to ensure they haven’t signed already):
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=31670&SESSION=885
If you are unsure who your MP is or how to contact them follow the link below:
Final Comment from Matt Davis (Foxes Trust Board Member – Central & Local Government)
I am delighted that common sense appears to be prevailing in that MP’s wish to re-examine the case for introducing small, limited sections of safe standing areas at football grounds. It is important to stress though that it is purely an ‘examination of the case’ in order to ascertain whether the improvements in stadium design and technology subject to safety specifications standing areas could be safely re-introduced.
(As at 29/1/07 the EDM has attracted 114 signatures).