Tory leader David Cameron backs return of terraces

By: Bob | February 1st, 2007

Undoubtedly you come to The Offside every day to read about British politics. We’re proud of our past reporting on the poll tax, Middle East foreign policy and the always lively debate over fox hunting. Today we examine another pressing issue that could play a role in future elections: terraces at English football stadiums.

As you are probably aware, following the tragedy at Hillsborough in 1989 in which more than 90 fans died moves have been made to make football grounds safer. This includes a rule that states that all football clubs in the top two divisions must have all-seater stadia, a move that some have argued has made the atmosphere as fun as listening to Rod Stewart’s newest album backwards (if you play it frontwards you’ll hear a message from the devil).

Enter Tory leader David Cameron who is more than eager to make this is a political issue.

Answering questions from visitors to his website, the Tory leader said: “Obviously the first priority here has got to be safety after the dreadful events at Hillsborough. We really have to bear that in mind.

“But I understand the point that other countries manage to organise things in a slightly different way, and there may be some more modern ways of organising the limited seating areas.

“What I would say is that when we come into government I would ask the sports minister to review the existing regulations to take into account the views of the football authorities, the police, the clubs, the fans, and we will have a really good look at this.”

As a respected political news ~~organisation~~ organization covering British politics we won’t endorse the Tories (we’re putting our weight behind the Communists), but we will say that this is a welcomed discussion even if it is politically motivated and even if you shouldn’t trust a word a politician says while running for office.

Obviously no one wants to see a situation where lives are endangered. A smart, well-thought out plan to allow for limited standing areas won’t do that.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled, non-political broadcasting…

UPDATE: Here is a picture of Tony Blair schooling some pupils today. Fair, balanced, dependable…that is what we are.