Alan Bullion stands up for football supporters

The Lib Dems have announced new proposals we believe will help reduce spiralling season ticket costs as well as tackle the rising debt situation.

"Football fans are getting a raw deal. 1.4 million who want to play football can’t due to scant facilities. Season tickets for top clubs are a rip-off; costing 5 times more than in Spain and Italy. Disabled fans are treated shamefully. Only two Premiership Clubs meet the recommended level of number of spaces specially designed for wheelchair users. The game is disappearing from free-to-air TV," said Alan Bullion, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Sevenoaks and Swanley.

And fans can’t stand at matches, though many want to. According to the Football Fans’ Census, 91% of fans think they should be able to choose to stand.

Of course, none of us can forget Hillsborough. Fourteen years ago, Liberal Democrats were right to support the introduction of all-seater grounds in the top leagues. Nor should we ever support a return to traditional terraces which were clearly unsafe. But it’s time to reassess standing based on compelling new evidence.

All-seater grounds aren’t necessarily safe. Several clubs say they regularly experience problems with fans standing in seating areas. This is dangerous because those areas simply aren’t designed to support standing. Yet it’s difficult to stop large numbers of people from standing if they’re determined to.

Also, modern developments mean that standing could be introduced safely. Evidence from abroad shows us that supporters can stand safely. In Germany, a standing ticket allows you to enter a specific standing area, usually of around 2,000 fans. Entry to those areas is carefully monitored and controlled by stewards. In some cases, flip-down seats are also included. Standing and seating areas are separated. Everyone can choose how they watch.

Manchester City’s Safety Officer told Lib Dem MP and Sports Spokesman Don Foster that he would welcome safe standing – as long as it was managed properly.

That’s why the party has backed a motion to, following further research, support the introduction of safe-standing for clubs who want to introduce it and only if it meets stringent safety requirements.

Millions of football fans deserve to have their voices heard. Liberal Democrats have listened and will do all we can to back their call for safe standing.

Graham - we are not scrapping the nuclear deterrent. We are however not in favour of upgrading Trident - and anyway the county cannot afford it - although the Conservatives won't admit this. We are proposiing an early review of our military needs in the new Parliament and I would rather see more money going to properly protect our brave troops in battle zones such as Afghanistan rather than on upgrading Trident, which several leading generals have said is not necessary for our defence at this time.
Also, football and sport in general bring pleasure to many millons of people across this country, not least in Sevenoaks and Swanley, and is an important issue to me and them.
Best Wishes, Alan