Speeches by Wilkinson.

“We welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Sadly, rather than devoting our attention today to how this House can push for a just and sustainable resolution to the horrors of the conflict in the middle east, we are talking about something else. On this occasion—there have been past occasions, too—it is the deeply in…”

“I congratulate the Business Secretary, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Minister for AI and Digital, the hon. Member for Enfield North (Feryal Clark), on listening to me over the last 11 and a half months and including in the sector plan for digital and technologies the Golden Vall…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. Without the free press, democracy cannot function, as the Opposition spokesperson just said. We therefore cannot allow foreign states to use their wealth and influence to hold stakes that threaten the independence and integrity of British journalism. The Govern…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner, and to be in raucous agreement with the shadow Minister.”

“No, several. I have been to many football matches at more than 50 Football League grounds, and every time I have attended with groups of people who have been in the pub until the last possible moment, forcing down an extra pint—or an extra lucky gin and orange, which was a tradition that a group of my friends used to h…”

“Hon. Members are all waiting for it—this was going to be the moment that we were going to force a vote, but given that the Minister has put on record the fact that this will be considered an operational and match day issue for the regulator, so fans must be consulted on it and would probably have a veto, we are content…”

“The hon. Member suggests that we have not sided in any Divisions with the official Opposition; the record will show that we have.”

“Were DCMS to be abolished, which Department does she think the regulator would end up reporting into?”

“The hon. Member makes an interesting point. The US has a franchise system, so every club can be moved wherever it wants. Someone who is an Oakland Raiders fan would probably also have been an LA Raiders fan. Where else did the Raiders play? There was definitely a third place, at least, in my lifetime, because clubs reg…”

“I strongly agree. This is a real risk that we cannot look past. With the increasing foreign ownership of clubs, many people would clearly look to buy a football club and market it around the world by taking it on tour. We should not put up with that in this country; this is our national game and it should be protected …”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. When we discussed this issue on Second Reading, I said that the prospect of Arsenal playing Manchester City in Dubai should have all football fans reaching for the sick bucket—I assume most Man City and Arsenal fans would agree with that. I remain of that view. The …”

“With new clauses 9 and 13, we are calling for an expansion of the crown jewels of sports broadcasting to ensure that key fixtures from the domestic football calendar are made available on free-to-air television. Members will have recently seen some of the coverage about dwindling viewership figures for this year on TNT…”

“I have heard what the Minister said. She seems to be implying that this issue can be dealt with by the Bill, and that the regulator will have an eye on these sorts of things. I am somewhat reassured, but I hope that when the regulator is introduced—and we hope it is introduced—it will be given a strong steer that it ou…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We cannot claim to be reforming football unless we tackle one of its most dangerous long-term trends—the creeping financialisation and asset-stripping of clubs. The hon. Member for High Peak has mentioned this on a number of occasions; he has experienced it in his f…”

“I agree. The assumption that football fans are hooligans is clearly not borne out by the statistics any more. We need to take a real-life, real-world view of what happens as a result of these rules. As the shadow Minister said, the new clause does not say that everyone must drink at football grounds or that the ban mus…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 11 Protection of assets of regulated clubs “(1) Where any of the following assets belong to a regulated club, the asset must not be removed from the club’s ownership or used as collateral for a secured loan— (a) any stadium, (b) any trai…”

“The spirit of the Bill is rightly focused on ensuring the financial sustainability of the game and, crucially, protecting the heritage of clubs by giving fans a greater voice. As I have said, we support the Bill. In the spirit of the noble aims of the Bill, we have tabled new clause 10, which proposes a simple but powe…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“It is not about the money that this would take out of football, but the money that is taken out of the pockets of many football fans who are being exploited by predatory gambling companies every day.”

“I am pleased that this is on the Minister’s mind, and that the Government seem to understand the problem. I think we would all accept that there is a bigger problem with gambling adverts in football which needs to be solved. Whenever we turn on Sky on a Sunday afternoon, it is obvious to all what is going on, as the ad…”