MANCHESTER UNITED BOSS Sir Alex Ferguson could soon find himself being appointed to the UK’s House of Lords, if two MPs from Manchester get their way.
Graham Stringer, an MP for Blackley and Broughton, says it is “ludicrous” that no former soccer players or managers are part of the House of Lords, given the sport’s massive role in British society and culture.
As a result, he wants to set about bringing footballing experience into parliament – and hopes to begin doing so by having the Manchester United and former Aberdeen boss added to the membership of the Lords.
He has tabled an Early Day Motion which has also been signed by another Manchester MP, Tony Lloyd, calling on the government to acknowledge Ferguson’s role in modern football by giving him a peerage and making him a member of the upper house.
“Football is no longer just the working man’s game – it permeates every level of society,” Stringer told the Manchester Evening News. “You can’t go anywhere without having a conversation about what’s happening in football. It’s a national obsession.”
The Lords is already home to many novelists and actors, he added – saying there was no reason for that theme not to be extended to football.
‘Politics, eh? Bloody ‘ell’
Early Day Motions do not usually gain enough traction to be debated in full in parliament and are rarely passed, but merely form a way of allowing MPs to register their official support for a particular cause.
An EDM is usually debated only if the government of the day is happy to do so, but can be passed without ever being discussed on the floor. In Ferguson’s case it’s not likely to be passed because he’s a Labour supporter, and Labour are significantly out muscled in the Commons by the coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
If he was appointed, Ferguson would be allowed to choose which title he adopted: he could opt to become Baron Ferguson of Govan, in honour of his native Glasgow suburb, or could potentially opt to instead be known by his more recent Mancunian roots and become Baron Ferguson of Old Trafford.
Fergie, 69, is the most successful manager in English football history having won a record 12 league titles, FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League titles.
In 1999 he led United to an unprecedented treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League victories – earning himself a knighthood as a result.
He will mark 25 years at the helm at Old Trafford this November.
