Labour Society for Sport kicks off with Sports Dinner at the Oval
Last night's inaugural Labour Society for Sport dinner at the Oval cricket ground was hosted by the original voice of the Champions League Clive Tyldesly wielding a branded mic and roving camera (who promised in the case of heavy rain to move outside and continue his address at the outdoor lectern, providing the crowd serenaded him with D:Ream).
The largest sporting event in Labour circles since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, it was attended by over 350 guests from sportspeople and sporting bodies to businesses, charities, academia and current Labour politicians including Shadow Sport Minister Steph Peacock, Shadow Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell and MP colleagues Alex Davies-Jones, Ruth Cadbury, Bill Esterson, and Tonia Antoniazzi, and peers Lord Mann and Lord McNicol.
Guests included England rugby legend Brian Moore, current England Netball Assistant Head coach and GLADIATORS referee Sonia Mkolomaco, three times Olympic champion rower Andrew Triggs Hodge OBE, former Leeds rugby league player Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, Women's Rugby World Cup-winning captain Gill Burns MBE, co-founder of Women in Football Anna Kessel MBE, CEO of the League Managers Association Richard Bevan OBE, former England rugby player and incoming FA director of women's football Sue Day MBE, founder and director of the Indigo Trust Fran Perrin OBE, CEO of the Youth Sport Trust Alison Oliver MBE, and NFL and Premiership Rugby player Christian Scotland-Williamson.
In the room was the FA, Premier League, the RFU, British Rowing, Sport England, Silverstone, the ECB, Women in Football, Black Footballers Partnership, Welsh Rugby Union ... along with Loughborough University, the League Managers Association, the PFA, Mastercard, the Football Supporters Association, the Lawn Tennis Association, Football Beyond Borders, UK Active, England Boxing, the British Horseracing Association, Kick It Out, London Sport, London Youth Rowing, Motorsport UK, the British Basketball League, the Royal Yachting Association, Swim England, the British Horseracing Authority, Arena Racing Company, The Jockey Club, and Open University, among others.
Prizes in the raffle and silent auction included a bottle of House of Commons Red from Rachel Reeves, a signed shirt from the MPs vs Lobby 50th anniversary football match, a signed cricket bat from MCC vs Rest of the World, and various training sessions in velodromes, parks, stadiums and tennis courts with the athletes (and some of the politicians) present.
