The Foxes Trust has continued to receive positive replies from local Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, here is the second set of responses to an e-mail which asked the following two questions
· Do you support the principles of increased supporter engagement, influence and ownership at their football clubs within a system of better overall governance?
· Do you commit to working with your local supporters’ trust and Supporters Direct nationally to help achieve these objectives?
The timely responses from Labour candidates was maintained by Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Leicester South, Peter Soulsby who replied:
“Thank you very much for this email, as you know, I am a long-standing member of the Foxes Trust, so you won't be surprised that I warmly welcome Labour's commitment to increased supporter representation and ownership of their clubs.
I am also happy to repeat my commitment to working with the Foxes Trust to develop better participation and influence of supporters on their club……
I will, of course, be happy to meet with the Trust at any time to discuss ways in which we can increase supporters' influence. Football clubs like Leicester City are not just another business – they are a vital part of the life of our community.”
The next couple of replies received were from the Liberal camp, firstly from Liberal Democrat's Prospective MP for Charnwood, Robin Webber – Jones who said:
“Thank you very much for your email. The answer to both questions is of course yes. I think that the more we can do to improve the governance of sport to put fans at the heart of it the better. Moreover, I think the more we can introduce young people to sport in terms of watching and playing the better it is all round”
This was then followed by Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Loughborough, Mike Willis who gave brief backing saying:
“Oh Yes, Oh Yes, Oh Yes. Responsibility, Governance and Due Diligence sometimes seem to be a missing factor in the sport at the moment. I pledge to work for a more ffinancially sustainable sport in the UK.”
The final reply featured today comes from Labour Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, Ross Willmott who said:
“Many thanks for your message, as you may recall I have been involved with the football club and the supporters group for a number of years in my former role as Leader of the City Council. I was pleased to be able to help in the relocation from Filbert St to Walkers Stadium.
I was then a strong supporter of the City Supporters Trust and still am.
I am happy to answer 'yes' to both your questions as I think any club could benefit from the huge resource that are its supporters.
If I can be of any further help please let me know”
More replies have already been received and will be published in further website articles, those Prospective Parliamentary Candidates who fail to reply will receive no mention on the site.
The initial set of replies are available via this link
http://foxestrust.co.uk/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=861&Itemid=2
The Foxes Trust as an organisation is not supporting any political party, these articles are published to allow members (and website readers) to be aware of candidates views on fan involvement in their clubs, it is up to individuals whether these views will influence their vote.