Ed Davey says a Lib Dem government would make Premier League matches free for all on TV - as Tories accuse party of 'just making things up at this point'
Sir Ed Davey has promised to make Premier League matches free for all on TV in a new manifesto pledge but the Tories have accused the Liberal Democrats of 'just making things up at this point.'
The party says the bold policy would tackle high stadium prices and costly TV subscriptions.
It claims that that football fans face paying almost £880 for a 10-month season, if they want to pay for all the services.
The Lib Dems have made the policy announcement in a timely manner with a bumper summer of sports on the horizons as the 2024 Euro kicks off in less than two weeks followed by the Paris Olympics in July.
In a statement Sir Ed accused broadcasters and Premier League clubs of being 'money-grabbing'.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey watching the Women's World Cup last summer. Sir Ed has promised to make Premier League matches free for all on TV in a new manifesto pledge
Sir Ed on a water slide while on the campaign trail. In a statement he said: 'We need to tear down the paywall and give Premier League football back to the country'
The Premier League's current title holders - Manchester City. The party says the policy would tackle high stadium prices and costly TV subscriptions. It claims that that football fans face paying almost £880 for a 10-month season, if they want to pay for all the services
He said: 'We need to tear down the paywall and give Premier League football back to the country.
'The next generation of fans and players are unable to watch the likes of Foden, Saka and Palmer. That is a tragedy for the sport.
'The Conservative government has completely failed football fans, from breaking their promise to create a football regulator, to allowing greedy broadcasters to hide Premier League football away from millions.'
The Tory government had plans for a new Independent Football Regulator (IFR) through the Football Governance Bill.
However it did not clear all the hurdles it needed to become law before the dissolution of Parliament, ahead of the General Election on Thursday July 4.
The legislation would have set new 'corporate governance' goalposts for football clubs, given the IFR powers to intervene in the distribution of broadcast revenue.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport claimed the bill would create 'enhanced financial regulation to improve the financial resilience of clubs across the football pyramid, ensuring that clubs take sensible financial decisions.'
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: 'The Liberal Democrats are just making things up at this point. They can't force TV companies to reduce subscription prices, or football clubs to make tickets cheaper, and the Government remains committed to delivering the Independent Football Regulator. This is sad, desperate stuff from a party that people are struggling to take seriously.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak campaigning in Milton Keynes. A Conservative Party spokesperson said: 'The Liberal Democrats are just making things up at this point. They can't force TV companies to reduce subscription prices, or football clubs to make tickets cheaper'
Sir Ed has made headlines in recent days for a number of publicity stunts which included the party leader falling off a paddle board in Lake Windermere
The stunts have also been used to put the spotlight on their policy proposals. Yesterday, Sir Ed joined school children in a cooking class learning to bake biscuits in order to announces plan to extend free school meals to every primary school
'This is just a classic example of the Liberal Democrats sniping from the sidelines without putting forward a proper plan. A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for Keir Starmer as Prime Minister and a Labour Party who will just resort to raising taxes for hard-working households by £2,094 to pay for their unfunded spending black hole.'
Sir Ed has made headlines in recent days for a number of publicity stunts which included the party leader falling off a paddle board in Lake Windermere and going down a waterslide in Frome, Somerset.
However, the Lib Dems claim these are more than just silly photo ops, The centrist party claims they are attempts to gain publicity in an election campaign so far dominated by the two main parties.
The stunts have also been used to put the spotlight on their policy proposals. Sir Ed's paddle boarding escapades in Lake Windermere highlighted the Lib Dem's proposals to reform private water companies so they take sewage spills seriously.
Yesterday, Sir Ed joined school children in a cooking class learning to bake biscuits in order to announces plan to extend free school meals to every primary school.
In the 2024 election, the Lib Dems are targeting a number of seats across the so-called blue wall of Tory seats across the south east of England hoping to capitalise on middle England's anger at Sunak's government.
The party is also hoping that a decline in support for the SNP in Scotland will help them regain the coveted position of third largest party which they infamously lost in the disastrous 2015 election - where the party lost 49 of its 57 seats.
