What politicians can learn from the football transfer window: John Huddleston

And there is nothing wrong with that, we live in a world where we not only have our families and our own lives to focus on, but masses of information coming at us from every direction and thankfully we don’t all like the same things.

Policy discussion, technical debates and making the broader case for change is what we elect our politicians to do on our behalf.

Why Boris Johnson's 'boosterism' can help Doncaster Sheffield Airport flyHowever the ability of public opinion to change the agenda often for the better is a central plank of our democratic system – the will of the people.

So if more people taking an interest in politics is better for the world we live in, how do we make the fundamentals of politics appeal to get more people engaged?

One thought outside of good, honest education, is drawing parallels to sport and for this article’s illustration, the beautiful game – football.

So what can politicians learn from the way in which football dominates the national conversation – even when matches aren’t being played?

Although the Premier League is only starting again this evening for a new season, football has hogged the sports headlines (and made a few front pages) already this month as tens of millions of pounds have changed hands in a flurry of transfer deals – perhaps the most notable of which is Yorkshire’s very own Harry Maguire becoming the world’s most expensive defender after Manchester United brought him from Leicester City for £80m.

Clubs reaching for their fax machines to sign overpriced players on eye-wateringly high wages may not be to everyone’s taste, but the spectacle has been drawing a captive audience of millions with wall-to-wall coverage day and night all summer. Can you imagine that for political news?

Now I’m a self-confessed political junkie; give me a Cabinet reshuffle over the football transfer window any day, but underneath the serious business that is politics, is a game.

A game that follows a set of rules, repeats itself, has big characters, minnows, plucky underdogs, some absolute no hopers, a jostle for first place and some who are actually quite happy with third or fourth.

It’s played out on a national and international scale, leading the news instantly, there is tension, angst, things going badly wrong, and whisper it, moments of pride and success.

There’s a bit of rivalry thrown in as well – Blue versus Red, anyone?

The positions in football and politics aren’t too dissimilar either, with parallels between Cabinet positions and Premier League players, junior Ministers with those in the Championship and principle private secretaries and backbenchers with League One and Two journeymen (although a backbencher on their day, can be Premier League quality).

Throw in select committee chairs who are the equivalent of the teams who on their day can cause a lot of trouble for the big boys – think Everton, or playing away at Leicester, Crystal Palace and West Ham.

Plus when large amounts of money are spent or promised with little guarantee of delivery, cynicism is easily bred.

So are these similar principles of a game not enough to draw more interest if better related?

It seems the answer is no.

Natural interest in politics is low, for example according to a recent YouGov survey only 51 per cent of people know who Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell MP, is.

One would assume that even less know his ideas and therefore are able to discuss what they mean.

Yet he is the person in the official Opposition to the Government setting an alternative agenda for people’s lives, potential incomes and the world around them.

Yes, politics is incredibly serious, for all the game-playing and pursuit of power, as its prime purpose is to make the world a better place.

If we can do more to bring it to life, make it more relatable, we can raise the level of debate and perhaps even bring people closer through more common areas of discussion.

So a starter for ten, does anyone know how Brexit will affect the glittering foreign players we love to watch every week from playing in our leagues?

John Huddleston is Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.