Conservative Policy Announcement ‘Mending a Broken Society’

The Conservative Party has published the latest in a series of policy documents, focussing on ‘Mending a Broken Society’, a draft manifesto which looks at the issues of crime, families, poverty and inequality.  Of direct interest to sport, the document draws attention to the wider benefits of participation, noting the impact that sport can have on ‘binding people together’. The policy paper outlines the Conservative commitment to focus the Big Lottery Fund purely on supporting social action through the voluntary and community sector.

This document builds on a number of announcements made by the Conservative Party which reference the wider benefits on sport. Most recently, the Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith has outlined a Conservative blueprint for sport which would see additional emphasis placed on the wider social benefits of participation. Speaking at a Centre for Social Justice event, the former leader announced that he has asked the think tank to produce a report looking at the power that sport has to transform young lives and reverse social breakdown; ‘this project is not about finding the next Wayne Rooney. It is about showing that sport has psychological and social benefits that can help rebuild our broken society’.

These recent proposals build on the main Conservative commitment to sport, with the ambition of returning the National Lottery to the original four good causes; charities, arts, heritage and sport. Sports Policy News will ensure that stakeholders are made aware of further manifesto announcements of relevance to the sporting landscape.