Commonwealth Games kick off with Gavin Newlands MP seeking a funding commitment from UK Government
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has called on the UK Government to guarantee that the Scottish Government, and the other devolved administrations, receive funding after it came to light that the UK Government plan to spend £560M to support the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This follows the UK Government supporting both the Manchester Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics but offering not one penny for Glasgow 2014.
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games kicked off last week with a billion people worldwide estimated to have watched the opening ceremony.
Mr Newlands, who also serves as the SNP Westminster Spokesperson for Sport, previously raised this issue in the House of Commons and has followed this up with a letter to the UK Government’s Minister of Sport. In addition to asking her to confirm Barnett consequential funding, he sought clarification on what specific costs the UK Government funding would cover and for her to set out why the Birmingham games are to be funded whereas the Glasgow games were not.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said:
“It’s been an excellent start for Team Scotland in the Gold Coast. I am also looking forward to seeing how our huge number of Renfrewshire-based competitors, compete against the best athletes from across the Commonwealth.
“Despite the current Games having not long started, preparations will be well underway for the 2022 games in Birmingham, and I wish them well. However, I was surprised to see that the UK Government have committed over half a billion pounds to Birmingham 2022, when you consider that they provided zero funding to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“The UK Government needs to explain why they decided to fund the Birmingham games so handsomely when they provided nothing for Glasgow, and had to be dragged kicking and screaming to provide a small amount of Barnett consequentials from London 2012, after initially refusing.
“Following this funding commitment, the UK Government must guarantee that the Scottish Government will receive its fair share of funding via Barnett consequentials. We must ensure there is a level playing field when it comes to staging international sporting events across the UK.
