Sporting Events Bill [Lords]

Phil Brickell Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock]

The hon. Gentleman makes a really important and valid point, and I look forward to continuing the conversation with him in Bill Committee, when we can pick up on that point. I will touch on recurrent events in a moment, but first I will touch briefly on transport.

The Bill enables integrated, cross-boundary transport plans and temporary traffic powers in England for local traffic authorities. My hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) raised this important point. I assure him that plans will be collaborative, and will have to work with local people. A good example is the games route network used in Birmingham 2022, which ensured that spectators could move safely and efficiently, while minimising disruption to local residents and businesses.

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

The Minister will know that Peel Land is hoping to support a bid for the Ryder cup to come to the Hulton Park site in my Bolton West constituency. I have serious reservations about the infrastructure at that site, and many of my constituents have grave concerns, predominantly about road traffic. In particular, the Westhoughton Chequerbent roundabout is chock-a-block with traffic at all times of the day. Will the Minister meet me to hear our concerns, and make sure that any putative bid at a future date addresses the infrastructure concerns that I raised with the Prime Minister earlier in the year ,when he was in his previous role as Mayor of Greater Manchester?

[Stephanie Peacock]

My hon. Friend makes a really important point on behalf of the people he represents, and I would be absolutely delighted to meet him to discuss it further.

As the Secretary of State mentioned, we are well aware of the concerns about recurrent domestic events, and we recognise the opportunities available. We will seek to address this issue during the passage of the Bill, and I welcome the comments from those on the Opposition Front Bench. The hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) made an important point regarding Silverstone, and I can assure her that both the Secretary of State and I are passionate about it too, having been there with the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston). The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul), made an important point on this issue too, and I welcome the comments from the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam), about working with us on recurrent events. I look forward to doing that in Committee.

I welcome the fact that the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine), broadly supports the Bill. I appreciate her point about music events, and she asks why they were not included. The Bill was originally designed for biddable events, which is why music events were not included. Indeed, that is why some of the recurrent events were not initially included. However, we have heard the points made in this House and the other place, and we will work with people to get this right.

The whole of the UK stands to benefit from major sporting events, and we are committed to seeing the reward shared across the four nations. From the inception of the Bill, we have worked closely with devolved partners to ensure that it serves the whole Union, and we will continue to work with each devolved Government to ensure that, where appropriate, legislative consent motions are secured.

I would like to cover some of the broader points, which were mainly put to me by the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham. I do not want to overstate it, but I pay tribute to him for all the work that he has done, both on the Opposition Front Bench and as a Minister before that. He put various questions to me, and I will touch briefly on some of them. He mentioned the 3 pm blackout, which exists to protect ticket sales for lower leagues in the football pyramid. As a former Minister for Sport, he will know that it is an issue for the Football Association, but we support the current situation, as we recognise the importance of this for the lower leagues. He raised a point about alcohol, and he is absolutely right. We debated this during the passage of the Football Governance Bill, and there are of course different views. The ban was originally introduced to protect fans, but I recognise the debate that is taking place. It is an issue for the Home Office, so I will reflect the points he makes to the relevant Minister.

Both the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) mentioned the Commonwealth games coverage. Ultimately, the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham will know, as a former Minister, that this was a decision for Commonwealth Sport as the rights holder, and there is a balance between accessibility and commercial considerations. I know he was in attendance at the Commonwealth games, and I think that TNT did a very good job of making it accessible. There was also work on radio, with S4C and the BBC, and free-to-air highlights on Channel 5. However, I do acknowledge the point that the fact the BBC did not cover it means there was not so much wider awareness, but he will appreciate that that issue is independent of Government.

The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee made a point about deaf athletes and the deaf Olympics. UK Sport has met those involved, as have I as the Minister, and I would like to assure both the Select Committee and the House, as well as anyone watching our proceedings, that we absolutely have not forgotten the issue. I wrote to the Select Committee earlier this year, and this is something that I and the Secretary of State care very much about. I will update both the House and the Select Committee on that issue.

Major sporting events can change lives, transform communities and inspire people to get involved in sport. This Bill will make sure we are ready to secure more of these incredibly important global events and bring their power to communities across the UK. We will champion fans, protect commercial rights and give organisers the reassurance they need to come to our country and cement the UK as a world leader in this space, so I commend this Bill to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

High Street Gambling Reform

Phil Brickell Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) on securing this debate and on her campaigning on this issue over the years. That includes this week’s letter to the Prime Minister, which had nearly 300 signatories and which she co-ordinated. She was quite right to say that our high streets are being hollowed out by a surge of betting shops, with local people left seemingly powerless.

It seems to me that this issue should sit squarely with this Labour Government’s Pride in Place programme. I am not suggesting that we should have no betting shops—I recognise that the industry provides jobs and tax revenue—but local to where I am, there are three betting shops within walking distance of my office in Horwich, a town of fewer than 20,000 people, and there are two more nearby in Westhoughton town centre. The current situation is not conducive to fulfilling the Government’s manifesto pledge, which I proudly stood on in 2024, to tackle gambling harm, which is sadly a lived reality for far too many families in Bolton and Greater Manchester as a whole.

[Iqbal Mohamed]

Let me make a couple of points about the high street. The way that these shops are set up, with attractive front faces and lighting, is quite appealing, especially to children and young people. Does the hon. Member agree that that should be managed and that there should be regulation around that? Like cigarettes and alcohol, there should be a health warning on the outside of the shop that would ensure that people are aware of what it is and what harms it can cause.

[Phil Brickell]

The hon. Member makes a valid point. We see that on high streets in my constituency time and time again, all too often, in the context of vape shops.

As an aside, we all know that gambling today is no longer confined to a once-a-week trip to the bookies; it is on people’s phones, in their pockets and available 24 hours a day. Online slots are among the highest-risk products, as they are fast, repetitive and designed to encourage long sessions and binge play. I commend the Government on the introduction of stake limits for online slots. Those limits matter, because harm increasingly happens not just on the high street, but on our phones, anywhere and at any time.

Let me go back to the high street. As we have already heard many times in this debate, the clustering of betting shops remains a serious and unresolved problem, particularly in deprived communities. I received assurances from the gambling Minister last year that cumulative impact assessments on gambling licensing will be introduced to strengthen councils’ ability to influence the density of gambling outlets, but this measure is pending parliamentary time—that much-dreaded phrase. I urge the Minister not to let this important measure get crowded out. It is a new year, and with new years come new year’s resolutions. How about a resolution to prioritise addressing what is a far too liberal regime for managing gambling harms?

We know that where gambling outlets cluster, harm increases, from debt and mental ill health to family breakdown and homelessness. According to the Government’s gambling-related harms evidence review, the north-west has some of the highest rates of at-risk gambling in England, with around 4.4% of adults experiencing elevated risk. Even more worrying is the fact that the north-west has one of the highest proportions of people harmed by someone else’s gambling—partners, children, parents and friends all pay the price.

I welcome the steps already taken by the Government. Frankly, the introduction of the statutory gambling levy to raise around £100 million a year for research, prevention and treatment is the least that the industry could do. While acknowledging the issue is always the first step, I know that the Minister, as a former councillor himself, will recognise it is no good leaving councils powerless to tackle the physical concentration of gambling premises on our high streets.

If we are serious about reducing gambling harm, we must accelerate reform. Our high streets should offer opportunity, not addiction; our laws should protect people, not profits.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Phil Brickell Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend talks about commemoration. The Westhoughton branch of the Royal British Legion, set up in 1921 after 109 soldiers from the town died in the first world war, was one of the first of its kind in the country. With that in mind, will he congratulate the Westhoughton branch of the Royal British Legion on the excellent VE commemoration event that was hosted at the weekend?

[Andrew Lewin]

I will happily congratulate the branch of the Royal British Legion in my hon. Friend’s constituency and all those across the country, which are doing such valuable work.

After the fall of France, there were some who said that despite the heroism at Dunkirk, our military was on the back foot. A small number advocating for talks with Germany might even have suggested, to use a modern phrase, that we did not have many cards to play—thank goodness their advice was so emphatically rejected.

The decision to stand against Hitler’s Germany in 1940 was not born merely of self-preservation; it was so much more. It was a free and proud country saying that aggressors cannot be rewarded, that a hateful ideology must be opposed and that our allies are worth fighting for. Those are timeless lessons. The greatest debt we all owe is to the brave men and women who served and sacrificed so much during the worst conflict that humanity has ever known.

Hatfield, in my constituency, is rightly famous as the birthplace of the Geoffrey de Havilland Mosquito fighter bomber, one of the RAF’s most effective weapons against the Luftwaffe and an example of the ingenuity that was so crucial to the war effort. Known as the “Wooden Wonder”, more than 6,500 Mosquitos were delivered to allied forces over the course of the conflict, and it is believed that more than 3,000 were built on site in Hatfield.

The neighbours in Welwyn Garden City had an integral role to play as well. A few miles north and east of Hatfield, Panshanger aerodrome started out in 1940 as a decoy factory, luring the Luftwaffe bombers away from Hatfield aerodrome. After victory in the battle of Britain, and with the threat of bombing raids easing, the aerodrome officially became RAF Panshanger in 1943 and operated as an important flying school.

Welwyn Garden City was also a sanctuary for Jewish people fleeing the evil of Nazi tyranny. Civilians were welcomed from 1933 onwards, and Applecroft hostel was established on the west side of town. Thanks to the records of the Welwyn Garden City interfaith group, we know the story of Sam Otto, a 21-year-old Jewish man, who escaped the Nazis in Leipzig, travelled bravely across Europe and was welcomed into the hostel in 1939. He said on his arrival, “If the hostel wasn’t heaven, it must be next door to it.”

Today, Welwyn Garden City is home to a thriving Ukrainian population, as our community once again opens its arms to those in greatest need. As we commemorate VE and VJ Day, I feel exceptionally fortunate to stand in the Commons Chamber where our political predecessors had the resolve to stand united against Nazi tyranny. I am equally proud to represent Welwyn Hatfield, to recognise some of the contributions made to the war effort and to simply say thank you to everyone who fought for freedom.

Football Governance Bill [Lords]

Phil Brickell Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Charlie Dewhirst]

I disagree on the ideological level—on the ideological point about who should regulate football. I will come on to that in a second, but I do not believe it is the Government’s job. I believe that the football landscape already provides for regulation.

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Charlie Dewhirst]

No, I will make some progress on this point, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind.

As a former employee of a football club, Hull City, and as someone who has worked for a national governing body of a sport at the Rugby Football Union, and for a national elite sport funding body at UK Sport, I have some experience of this issue. Each of those bodies—the EFL, the EPL and the FA—has a role in regulation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Phil Brickell Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

The right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, was asked—

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

2. What assessment the Committee has made of the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission’s powers to enforce compliance with political donation rules.

[Sir Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam)]

There are high levels of compliance with the UK’s political donation laws. The Electoral Commission currently has a range of powers to investigate and sanction suspected breaches of the law, but it has recommended making its enforcement powers more effective. It has also recommended increasing the maximum fine for breaches of the law from £20,000 to £500,000, which would ensure that the prospect of a fine acts as a more proportionate and credible deterrent.

[Phil Brickell]

The Electoral Commission has the power to issue fines only up to the value of £20,000, so I welcome the right hon. and learned Member’s comments. I take it that he agrees with the report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which found that this threshold needs to be dramatically increased in order to safeguard our democracy and act as a deterrent against bad faith actors.

[Sir Jeremy Wright]

Having been a member of that Committee, I do agree with its recommendations—although it did not make them when I was a member. As I have said, the Electoral Commission, for which I speak today, has made clear its views. I hope that he will make clear his views to Ministers because, in the end, this requires legislative change that only the Government can make.

English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance

Phil Brickell Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. Bolton Wanderers has been based in my constituency for over 25 years. It is no exaggeration to say that the stadium in Horwich, once known as the Reebok, now the Toughsheet community stadium, is the most important building in our borough. Bolton has long been a community club with international recognition. That is why it is not uncommon to see former Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt enjoying dinner in Westhoughton with one-time Wanderers player and long-time friend Ricardo Gardner.

In 2018, our historic club nearly went out of business. Bolton Wanderers entered 2019 subject to winding-up petitions from His Majesty�s Revenue and Customs; players were not paid and the club could not fulfil fixtures. I am pleased to say that the club has since recovered, thanks to the work of the new owners, Football Ventures, which is led by the formidable Sharon Brittan. Bolton now has a successful local business as its sponsor, with the incomparable Doug Mercer of Westhoughton firm Toughsheet stepping up to help the club. I pay tribute to Sharon, Doug, Phil Mason and Michael James, all of whom have done remarkable work to restore fans� trust and put the club back at the heart of the community.

In Bolton�s darkest time, it was the fans who rallied together; the supporters� trust was set up to give fans an organised voice through which to vent their anger and frustration. As MPs, we all know how important it to recognise the fundamental role that our clubs play in our communities. Their traditions, their history, their failures and their triumphs are all sown into the social fabric.