Boris is currently under fire for choosing to take a holiday over hosting a No. 10 reception for the victorious English Lionesses. While Downing Street says discussions are continuing around trying to find a time to host the team, it looks rather odd that plenty of other England sporting victories have been celebrated far more than Sunday night’s. The former FA head has called the lack of a No. 10 reception “disappointing for the players. What they have achieved is incredible.” To be fair to Boris, Sadiq Khan is also under fire that there’s been no traditional bus parade…
Tory MP Tracy Crouch has called on both Rishi and Liz to commit to hosting a reception in September if elected leader, a commitment Team Liz has been happy to make. In an apparent dig at the current No. 10’s failure to find time:
“The Lionesses have been an inspiration to our nation. Liz will host a reception in No10 if she is Prime Minister in September and her government would ensure the Lionesses are recognised for their historic victory in a suitable way.”
Promising to host a party in Downing Street will do little to cool allegations that she’s the Boris continuity candidate…
As the government ramps up its rhetoric on social media safety in response to the racist abuse hurled at Rashford, Saka, and Sancho after the Euros final, new data from both the Centre for Countering Digital Hate and the Kick It Out equality campaign show that whilst the level of abuse has increased in the past year, the majority of it is coming from overseas. A point which Gareth Southgate also acknowledged on Monday.
Sanjay Bhandari, chairman of Kick It Out, revealed that roughly 70% of all abuse over the past two seasons came from foreign accounts, adding:
““These are not football fans…They are people who have never been inside an English football ground.”
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate, meanwhile, found 105 Instagram accounts had directed abuse towards England players after the final. BBC Newsnight’s investigation revealed the locations of 64 of those accounts, of which only 5 came from the UK. Clearly this is still a problem, yet it’s worth bearing in mind where most of the abuse originates when trying to legislate against it…
Political pundits and Westminster hacks (along with the rest of the country) eagerly watched England’s triumphant victory against rivals Germany in last night’s match. Guido has collected the best and worst political reactions.
Boris Johnson limbs when Kane scored. pic.twitter.com/4b8SepNo3J
— Away Days Videos (@AwayDaysVideos) June 29, 2021
Congratulations, @England
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 29, 2021
(Still just one team unbeaten by 🏴 so far in @EURO2020 😉🏴)
I’m genuinely worried Priti Patel would stop football at the border and try to deport it https://t.co/rTwckjmyj0
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) June 29, 2021
Last night on Sky News, Isabel Oakeshott accused the Sky News of trying to start a “race row” with the worst take that goal scorer Raheem Sterling should have appeared on more front pages of newspapers.
Having avoided a national row about the kneeling, could we not avoid a race row when everyone is celebrating?
Politicians love to associate themselves with something as populist as football and Rishi is no different. However the authenticity of his support – or at the very least the longevity of his support – is called into question by the three price tags which can be seen still attached to his England football shirt in this publicity shot. A rare slip in his usually slick operation. It’s a bit “Gordon Brown wakes up to the Arctic Monkeys…”
Alongside many constituents, Tory MPs have launched a sweepstake for the 2020 Euros – a potentially risky draw for some to enter given their anger at England over taking-the-knee.
Earlier this month, four Tory MPs in particular spoke out against the team’s virtue-signalling: Brendan Clarke-Smith, Tom Hunt, Jonathan Gullis and Lee Anderson. While Lee Anderson explicitly called for a boycott, Clarke-Smith didn’t hold back, saying Gareth Southgate’s comments were “an insult to fans’ intelligence” and said fans were sick and tired of being “lectured on morality”. Guess which team Brendan drew in the MP sweepstake…
Bad luck Brendan – and Matt Vickers of course…
The extraordinary performances of English football teams in the European cup competitions this week has led to an outbreak of tragic attempts by politicians to look in touch with ‘ordinary people’ by making endless references to the ball-footy-kick thing. None more so than Jeremy Corbyn who posted a gushing tribute to Spurs on Wednesday night despite them being bitter rivals of his own team, Arsenal…
Even an Arsenal fan can appreciate the astonishing performances by @LFC and @SpursOfficial over the last two nights. Two underdogs defying the odds to set up an all English Champions League Final. Congratulations and good luck to both teams in the final. #AJATOT
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 8, 2019
Yet despite Arsenal qualifying for their own European final almost 24 hours ago (ok it’s only the Europa League, but still…) Jeremy Corbyn is still yet to send any message of congratulations whatsoever to his own beloved team of several decades. He’s not Gooner win over any fans like that…