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Keir Starmer calls for England to scrap kit with new St George's Cross design
Euros shirt under fire from various political quartersLabour leader also hits out at cost of new replica kit
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/mar/21/keir-starmer-calls-for-england-to-scrap-euros-kit-with-new-st-georges-cross-design-football
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has called for England’s new kit for the Euros to be scrapped following the decision to swap in a multicoloured St George’s Cross for the traditional red and white one on the shirt. Nike and England dropped the red and white cross on the collar, replacing it with navy, blue and purple stripes. Nike insisted the “playful update” was meant to “unite and inspire” fans for the 2024 tournament.
The FA was reported as stating that the idea was to honour the “classic colour regime of 1966 training gear” used when England won the World Cup but, after Lee Anderson and Nigel Farage of Reform UK vented their fury, Starmer also followed up in an interview. The leader of the opposition, currently enjoying a large lead in the polls with an election expected in the autumn, was speaking to the Sun political correspondent Harry Cole and said: “I’m a big football fan, I go to England games, men, women’s games. And the flag is used by everybody, it’s unifying, it doesn’t need to change.
“We just need to be proud of it. So I think they should just reconsider this and change it back.” Starmer continued: “I’m not even sure they can properly explain why they thought they needed to change in the first place. They could also reduce the price of the shirts.” The redesigned shirts, which England will be wearing for the first time in their pre-Euros friendly on Saturday at Wembley against Brazil, are retailing at £124.99 for adults and £119.99 for children.
“The England 2024 Home kit disrupts history with a modern take on a classic,” a Nike spokesperson said. “The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple. The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag of St George on the back of the collar.”
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Keir Starmer has said he supports a ban on trans women competing in women’s sports.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/03/12/keir-starmer-trans-athletes-ban/
Keir Starmer has backed a ban on trans women in sport (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
In recent months, a number of major sporting federations, including Badminton England, British Rowing and Swim England, have barred transgender women from competing. The Labour leader has previously remained coy on the issue, but during a visit to a school in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency on Monday (11 March), he told The Telegraph that he is “supportive” of the bans.
“The important thing is that sports governing bodies take a lead on this,” Starmer said. “And they are doing that, and we’re supportive of what they’re doing, particularly in elite sport. “That’s where the decision should be taken, and, in the end, common sense has to prevail in terms of safety and integrity of sport.”
Labour once stood firm on transgender rights but amid the increasing politicisation of trans lives the party has backtracked, U-turned and obfuscated on key issues. Last April, Starmer was accused of “throwing trans people under the bus” following an interview where he controversially said: “For 99.9 per cent of women, it is completely biological … and, of course, they haven’t got a penis”.
During the same interview, he appeared to throw his support behind outing trans youth to their parents, saying: “Of course I’d want to know. I say that as a parent. I would want to know and I think the vast majority of parents would want to know. “That’s why we have to have national guidance on it and they should try to make it cross-party, because it’s not helpful to parents or schools to have this as a toxic divide when what’s needed is practical, common-sense advice.”
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Keir Starmer could become the next prime minister, YouGov polling suggests. (Getty)