Rachel Hopkins

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) for securing this important debate and for eloquently setting out many of the governance and sustainability issues in English football. English football is central to the social fabric of Britain and is one of our greatest exports. It is more than a sport; it is the beating heart of our local communities. I agree with Bill Shankly: some people think football is a matter of life and death, but I assure you it’s much more serious than that. Each week, fans come together to back their club and create a shared sense of identity. The social impact of local clubs goes far beyond the pitch. In my totally unbiased opinion, there is no better proof of that than Luton. Luton Town FC is at the heart of our town and has worked for years in partnership with local charities. The Luton Town Community Trust, which was founded in 2008, is a charity dedicated to delivering community service to people across Luton and Bedfordshire, using the power of football to make a positive impact in sports, education, health and social cohesion. The club is at the heart of the town, and the fans are the heart of the club. Throughout the ups and downs of Luton Town FC’s journey, it has been the fans who stepped up to fight fiercely to protect our proud Hatters heritage when reckless ownership threatened to tear it down. The fan-led 2020 consortium bought out the club from further mismanagement after it went into administration in 2007. We all know that Luton’s promotion in 2023 was historic, but that promotion was a springboard for further exciting prospects for our town. There are detailed plans for the Power Court site, which will be the new home of Luton Town FC. It will transform Luton’s economy by directly contributing between £100 million and £250 million per year and supporting between 900 and more than 1,100 jobs. Despite the consensus that there is much to celebrate about the success of English football, the underlying governance structure and its financial sustainability are highly fragile. I am therefore delighted that our Labour Government have reintroduced a strengthened Football Governance Bill, delivering on our manifesto commitment to establish the independent football regulator and a new set of rules to protect clubs, empower fans and keep clubs at the heart of our communities. Crucially, the Bill will ensure that fans are prioritised at the heart of the game, which is what our football clubs should be about. I am proud that Luton is already a great example of putting fans first.