When the polls open at 7am on Thursday, there will be many issues concerning the electorate, writes Sky Sports News HQ reporter Geraint Hughes.
Whether provision for sport in schools or whether football club governance should need legislation, or even whether England should bid for a FIFA World Cup, will be high on the agenda is just not known as it appears the economy, the budget deficit, NHS or immigration are the burning topics the politicians want to debate and argue over.
Nevertheless, sport has made it into the content pages of several of the party manifestos, something that would have been seen as extraordinary 20 years ago.
Before I run you through the main policies of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru, we did contact and speak with UKIP about arranging an interview. They unfortunately declined our offer.
Political parties have become renowned for spin and what I found quite hard when reading through the various manifestos was to separate policy that could become legislation, or at the very least be debated in Parliament, from policy ideas which are just that – ideas, and have little prospect of ever becoming legislation.
So in order of who held the most number of seats in Parliament before it was dissolved for the General Election campaign in March, let’s begin with what the Conservative Party set out in their manifesto:
Improve quality of Community Sports Facilities and aim to fund investment in artificial pitches in over 30 cities.
Support school sports with £150m a year for primary schools.
To lift the number of women on national sports governing bodies.
Labour in their manifesto say:
Give football fans a voice in every club boardroom and the right to buy a slice of their local club.
A minimum of two hours of organised school sport a week moving towards five hours a week.
To apply pressure on sports bodies to employ more women and black and ethnic minorities.
The Liberal Democrats say:
Football changes to governance and legislation required to give fans a say in running of game.
Encouragement to get more women and ethnic bodies on boards of governing bodies.
Minimum of five per cent of TV revenue to go to grassroots sport.
Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales say:
Develop Inspire Wales Programme to involve all ages in sporting activity and ensure our people stay fit and healthy.
Want to attract the Tour de France to Wales.
Want to see a Wales international cricket team that can compete in ICC events.
The SNP say:
Use sport to help Scotland economically, make it fairer society, healthier society.
To continue securing high-profile events like Commonwealth Games for Scotland.
Ask private sector to respond to challenge of gender balance/ethnic minority equality on boards.
The Green Party say:
Set targets for participation in sports by women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in particular.
Make sure all children get at least a half-day equivalent of sports in school.
Encourage use of schools sports facilities by the local community.
The common theme of all the party manifestos and from our own interviews with party spokespeople on sport was school sport provision.
From the Conservatives promise of £150million a year to primary school head teachers for sport, to Labour’s promise of a minimum two hours a week of sport which they would like to increase to five hours within the Parliament, and not forgetting a similar policy the SNP and Plaid Cymru share where school sporting facilities are by law opened up after school hours for use by the community.
Some parties like the Liberal Democrats are insistent on legislation being passed on the governance of football clubs, whereby supporters have a greater say. All the parties agree with that idea, but only the Lib Dem sports spokesman John Leech insisted they would press for legislation.
Many of the sports spokesmen and women admitted sport wasn’t necessarily high on the political agenda for this election. When speaking with them there was admission that sport is used by politicians to make themselves appear popular and in touch with the electorate rather than part of any grand plan – school sport aside.
Of the six party spokespeople we interviewed I asked them all this question; “what conditions would there need to be for a Government to support a bid for a FIFA World Cup?” All smiled and took a deep intake of breath on this one. It was pretty unanimous, though. No support of a bid while Sepp Blatter remains FIFA president.
Conservative Party spokesman on sport Damian Collins made a plea for football fans around the world to lobby and put pressure on their national associations not to vote for Blatter at the upcoming FIFA presidential elections at the end of May.
Labour’s Clive Efford made it clear that his party would support any bid to bring world-class sport to the UK. However he fully supports the "brave" position of the FA in ruling out a bid while Blatter is in charge. He added it is "better to be in the minority of one and be right than to give way to your principles". Liberal Democrat spokesman John Leech added similar thoughts and was brief, "not while Blatter is in charge…".
I also asked whether any party would legislate so that quotas on the number of women that are represented at board level on the various sporting bodies in the UK be implemented.
The Conservatives felt that good work was being done and that it must continue, but that they would not be for imposing quotas.
Labour felt many governing bodies in the UK are not anti-women and are not ‘pushing against’ progress. Because of that feeling, they would not want to see a quota system similar to the one that is legislated for in the business world.
The Liberal Democrats used the phrase that they would prefer ‘persuasion to quotas’. In fact, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens all held similar positions, a realisation that the likelihood of imposing legislation for quotas is almost impossible.
A similar stance was also held by all the parties on quotas for Black and Ethnic Minorities (BEM). No quotas, but pressure during the next Parliament that the figures must change or else the threat of the imposition of a quota could become a reality.
