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Andy Burnham has suggested he would like to lift the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands at football matches. He did not say the government would do this; he was stating what has been his personal view for a long time. In the past, prime ministers have worked on the basis that they can’t have a personal view on anything, because the moment they articulate it, it is taken as government policy. But Burnham has said that he wants MPs to have a bit more freedom to speak out without having to worry about the party line.
This means that cabinet colleagues don’t necessarily have to agree – and in an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning Lucy Powell, the education secretary, suggested she had concerns about allowing drinking at football matches.
I go to the football most weekends with my young son and 30 years ago that probably wouldn’t have been all that comfortable an environment for a mum and their child to go to, but things have changed significantly. And that’s why we’ve been able to reintroduce safe standing, for example, which is something that fans want.
So I think it’s a conversation we need to have to make sure that we keep the great atmosphere.
I think we need to do this in consort with fans and with football, so that we make sure we keep the really good atmosphere, the good behaviour, and we don’t put that at risk.
