Keir Starmer, a lifelong Arsenal fan, will be in Berlin to watch England take on Spain this Sunday in the Euro 2024 final. The Prime Minister says he wants to ‘mark the occasion’ if England win, prompting speculation that an extra bank holiday may be in the offing. Plans are reportedly underway for a celebration in London on Tuesday, with the squad travelling by open-top bus from Guildhall in the City to a reception at Buckingham Palace. The players could also be invited to Downing Street.
Starmer, a lucky general indeed, was even moved to joke that England have not missed a penalty under a Labour government
This is manna from heaven for a new government. Starmer has revealed that he took time out of meetings at the Nato summit in Washington to watch part of England’s semi-final clash with the Netherlands on Wednesday.
‘It was fantastic. I managed to pop out from one of my sessions for just five minutes, which is when I saw Harry Kane get the first goal. I missed the second one but it was brilliant,’ he chirped.
Footy fans will be pleased that the man in charge of the country has got his sense of priorities right. After all, as the great Liverpool manager Bill Shankly observed: ‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.’
In moments of nationwide euphoria – and Sunday’s final will be that if England finally get over the line – any association with our national sport will take a politician a long way. Starmer can hardly be blamed for milking the occasion for all it’s worth. It must be even sweeter to know that this opportunity was gifted him by his predecessor in No. 10, Rishi Sunak. It might have been Sunak heading to Berlin, waxing lyrical about England’s success – if only he hadn’t called a snap general election timed to take place in the middle of the tournament. It only goes to show that Sunak (who was born in Southampton and supports the Saints) does not have a political bone in his body and no real clue about football’s place in the national psyche.
Starmer, a lucky general indeed, was even moved to joke that England have not missed a penalty under a Labour government in 2024. This quip carries echoes of remarks made by one of his Labour predecessors in No. 10, Harold Wilson. Back in 1966, with the country glorying in its first and only World Cup win (defeating West Germany at Wembley stadium), Wilson proudly declared that England only win the World Cup when Labour are in power. This cockiness came back to bite him four years later when England unexpectedly lost to the Germans in the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Just four days later, Wilson (a fan of Huddersfield Town) was given a red card by voters at the general election.
Wilson’s opportunism merely highlights a deeper truth that the game has long been used as a political football; a way for the people who rule us to show that they are in touch with common folk. It was New Labour under Tony Blair that really figured out how overt demonstrations of a love for football could be used to attract publicity and reach out to voters who didn’t care much for party politics. Blair spoke glowingly of his days as a young Newcastle United fan; there was the famous photoshoot playing keepy-ups with Kevin Keegan; and even Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager of the era, was held up as an example of how Labour values and football went hand in hand.
It is fair to say that the Tories haven’t had the same sure touch when it comes to projecting their worship of all things football. Sunak, early in the election campaign, was ridiculed when he asked Welsh voters whether they were looking forward to ‘all the football’ – seemingly unaware that Wales did not qualify for the Euros. Who can forget David Cameron, when he was prime minister, outing himself as an Aston Villa fan? That didn’t stop him suggesting in a later interview that he supported West Ham. In the largely unmemorable Tory leadership race between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Truss rather bizarrely told an audience in Leeds that the UK ‘needs to channel the spirit of Don Revie’. For those who may have forgotten, Revie was hugely successful as the manager of Leeds United from 1961-1974. He went on to become England manager, only to do a runner to the Gulf for money, earning the nickname Don Readies. It remains a mystery why Truss (a Norwich City fan, apparently) thought it sensible to invoke the ghost of Revie. Boris Johnson perhaps typifies this Tory footballing befuddlement at its most ridiculous. Johnson claims that he ‘loves’ the game but has never committed himself to one club. When he was London mayor, he told journalists he supported ‘all of the London teams’. Is anyone really surprised that Johnson has commitment issues?
Returning to Sunday’s final, two burning questions cry out for answers. First, can England actually win at a major tournament and banish forever the ghosts of 1966? Second, could it really be ‘coming home’ only because there is a Labour prime minister in Downing Street? Keir Starmer would love to tell you that’s the case.
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