Labour calls on government to ‘prioritise’ sport for young people

The Labour Party has called on the government to set out a clear strategy for how it will ‘prioritise access to sport for all young people’.

Following Team GB’s success at the Rio Olympic Games, Labour’s Deputy Leader Tom Watson has criticised the government for selling off playing fields and cutting programmes that give children access to high quality sports provision.

Watson said that the government ‘doesn’t support sports’ and warned that Great Britain may not be able to maintain its record of Olympic excellence if children and young people are not given adequate support.

The Deputy Leader also criticised the government’s obesity strategy, which he believes failed to tackle a problem that is becoming ‘a national crisis’