Culture, Media And Sport

Adam Thompson Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)]

It is a joy to speak in this estimates day debate on sport and youth services, particularly after I spent my weekend joining the Furniture Makers’ Company for its annual tug-of-war in West Park, Long Eaton. Erewash has a very long history of furniture making, and our enduring local businesses get together every year to celebrate their industry with their families over a very spectacular tug-of-war. They even let me have a go, and I am very proud to say that my side lost—and I did not do very well at staying on the rodeo rugby ball either.

I raise that because the event took place on West Park, which is our local hub for grassroots sport. West Park Leisure Centre, Long Eaton rugby club, Long Eaton cricket club, our skatepark, various football clubs, our splash pad and a very popular parkrun all call it home. As I walked around the park, I was struck by the investment that has been put into the park by our fantastic Erewash borough councillors. There is new lighting and a new events space, and a brand new flagship bridge and waterfront space are currently being built as part of the towns fund deal. That is a strong example of cross-party commitment to redevelopment. The project is going to help reboot the town as a local economic and leisure hub, linking the town centre to the park and making a stunning contribution to improving active transport in the area.

All that sits in front of further investment in grassroots sport across the country, such as nearly 1,000 community projects across the UK, which this Labour Government announced in January. Funding is focused on our most deprived communities, and women and girls’ participation in sports is prioritised. I am very pleased that the Government are focusing so heavily on improving low-cost access to sport in our communities.

Erewash was lucky enough to benefit from one of those recent projects, with Long Eaton United football club receiving a Football Foundation grant of nearly £20,000. That contributed towards a £50,000 project to upgrade floodlights on Grange Park, increasing the community’s access to sport on dark winter evenings. The grant forms a small part of the great expansion in grassroots sports funding that the Government are building into their spending review; £400 million has been committed to delivering new pitches, changing pavilions, floodlighting and facilities to support physical education, health initiatives and community outreach.

As we know, for every £1 spent on community sport and physical activity, over £4 is generated for the economy and society. Investment in grassroots sport—it is real investment—supports our local economies and saves the public in NHS spending in the long run by promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. Lots is happening in grassroots sport at the moment, and it is great to see the Government providing the funding that the country needs to make it all happen. Long may that continue.