Dear Mr Cameron: Please do not cut sport funding

Dear Mr Cameron,

At time of writing, we are approaching the end of the London 2012 Olympics. An event that some felt unsure about whether they would enjoy or not. However, the games have unquestionably been a success with what I'm estimating the majority of Britain's residents watching the somewhat quirky opening ceremony. Many of these people also watched the amazing events at the Olympic stadium on Saturday 4th of August with Mo Farah, Greg Rutherford and Jessica Ennis all winning gold in their respective sports in what some are now referring to as "super Saturday". With Great Britain now in the midst of their most successful Olympics ever, the country's love for sport has been more abundantly clear than ever throughout the course of these Olympics. 

So I was surprised and even disappointed to hear that David Cameron, the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and the rest of the government are planning to cut sport funding.

As someone who is in my mid-teens, I have seen the changes in sport in schools over the past few years, and I can tell you the facilities have improved. Possibly non- coincidentally, as the facilities have improved so have Great Britain's record at the Olympic Games. The heroes of team GB largely came from state schools, so if the proposed cuts on sport funding are to take place, one wonders how well Britain will do at the future Olympic Games. But it's not just about Olympic gold medals. No, the fact is the vast majority of children will not become Olympians or professional sports players. However, if state school sport funding is cut, then the amount of children who will become obese will increase as a lack of facilities and coaches will discourage many children. Seeing as the government have spent such a great deal of money on healthy eating to counteract increasing numbers of childhood obesity, cutting sport funding just doesn't add up.

I am mightily pleased to say I am not the only one that disagrees with the proposed cuts. Sir Chris Hoy, the British cyclist who recently became Britain’s most successful Olympian ever by winning his sixth Olympic gold medal, and fellow London 2012 gold medal winning cyclist Laura Trott have both spoken out against the controversial plans. Chris Hoy said how funding was a ‘’catalyst’’ for Great Britain’s Olympic cycling success. Because of this success, interest in cycling as a sport as well as participation in it, have increased. Now who is to say that if you decide to fund another sport whether that sport be in Olympics or otherwise, that that sport will not become a major success and encourage participation in that sport. A strong sporting scene also benefits the British economy with the athletes signing sponsorship deals and encouraging people to spend money on sports related items. If you cut sport funding interest in sport may decrease especially in poorer areas where they may not be able to afford to go to an independent sports club.

So please Mr Cameron, do not cut sport funding as it could lead to many young people all over Britain feeling out of touch and discouraged with taking part in something as simple and pure as sport. The country in which you govern has a rich sporting history and it would be a fatal blow to Britain if you were to damage it, which is what cutting sport funding would do.

Lords reforms bill scrapping highlights coalition tensions

As of now, the coalition government of Great Britain appeared more divided than ever as it was confirmed that the Lords reforms bill pushed so heavily by the liberal democrats was dropped by the government.

If the bill was to have gone through, then the house of Lords, which housed the most powerful people in the entire British government until the seventeenth century, would have had elected peers as opposed to hereditary peers, a system which the liberal democrats and also numerous Labour MP's claimed was unfair, elitist and discriminatory. The scrapping of the bill due to opposition from the conservative proportion of government was met with the following quote by Nick Clegg who was clearly frustrated with the developments calling those who opposed the bill ''resistant to change''.

So what does the bill's scrapping mean long term for the coalition? Until now, the coalition had only encountered a few disagreements unlike many predicted. Despite fierce opposition from many experienced and well respected liberal democrat MP's such as Simon Hughes as well as many members of the party's voters from the 2010 general election, Nick Clegg convinced many of his party members to support the conservatives when they decided to increase tuition fees. Perhaps he felt this would be rewarded by the lords reform bill being passed through government but obviously not.

The lords reform bill isn't the only liberal democrat supported reform bill that has floundered since the coalition began. In May 2011 a referendum took place on electoral reform which was one of the liberal democrats' key policies. However many members of the electorate were confused by the complex voting system and didn't feel change was necessary. Following this, many were left scratching their heads as to why this was a policy with so much importance to the liberal democrats.

The lords reform was a chance for the liberal democrats to reignite their support among many working class people who voted for them in the 2010 election after feeling frustrated with the Labour party. However, this failure will only further add to those who claim the party and its MP's are too close to the conservatives and have lost sight of what they believe in. Also, Nick Clegg's clear frustration when delivering the news will not please a lot of conservative MP's. If this year's mayoral elections are anything to go by and the Liberal democrats continue to be seen as incompetent, the 2015 general election may be a torrid one for Mr. Clegg and his party.