Hello and welcome to the political party today's guest is Toby Perkins the shadow minister for apprenticeships and lifelong learning.

We don't really talk about his brief Toby is a massive football fan a massive England fan.

In fact, I've been to an England game with Toby before we went to England play Russia in Euro 2016.

So this really is two guys talking about England's exit from the Euro's I say exit losing in the final and just the political forces around that in the aftermath and in the buildup what they mean for labor what they mean for England.

I mean a lot of the time I'll be honest with you. I'm just rambling in this and obviously I haven't put a podcast out for a couple of weeks for a number of reasons but as many regular listeners will know I am a massive football fan and I've always supported England even when many football fans many friends of mine fell out of love with them around the time the so called golden generation when they were quite hard to support I always through the flag always believed.

And obviously this summer has been in a way that some of the I always dreamed I would have I always wanted to see us get to a final I've always believed that one way we'd do it always believe that one day we'd win something and obviously that still hasn't happened.

But can't tell you the thrill seeing them walk out at Wembley I was very lucky to be there's very lucky to go to all of England's games at Wembley in this tournament.

And for a variety of people and I should say the kindness of strangers because I had tickets means friends had tickets for various games we lost them when the capacity was reduced but I was just so desperate to go.

When I first moved to London as a child I was just desperate to go to Wembley I never got to see folks play there very sadly and I just made a vow to myself that when I moved down here I would go to Wembley as often as possible.

I feel like I've been to 100 games at Wembley over the years friendlies qualifiers nation league games just literally anything I'll go watching them play in any game.

Nothing obviously has come close to the atmosphere particularly in those last three games the Germany game the Denmark game in the Italy game.

There's three group games where the capacity was huge you reduced it was still so brilliantly to see them actually play in a tournament there.

And I was able to get tickets through good people who saw me the face value most of the time and friends who had spares and it's just been wonderful but I will have you probably listen to perhaps this show's respite from football's I'm sorry that football is crept in as it sometimes does.

I see if you're not a fan of England regardless of where you're from in Britain or the wider world then I still think you'll understand what it's like to feel that pain for having a dream come so close but my god it was just wonderful and just what and and also just so great because obviously someone who's

politics are fairly liberal you know football authorities and certainly England managers haven't always an England in many respects hasn't always a football level felt like it really understood its responsibility given the way that some of its fans behaved over the years.

And finally we have a team that has a manager that is really articulate that is thoughtful that is considerate that speaks up in a very respectful way and a team that I've joined in with the global movement of taking a need before games and I just thought that was such a special thing that that team got to the final and almost one it is just so cool and obviously there's a whole load of other stuff negative stuff around

fans behavior games and talk about this with Toby have to say I mean I I thought I think it's appalling to boo your own team I've never done it any game in any situation I've seen for his play see this get relegated to the division never booed my own team to boo your own team before kickoff is incredible.

And I know there are people out there that say oh they're booing their Marxist thing but England constantly said it wasn't about Marxism they always said this was about just a simple gesture of combating racial inequality why so many people refused to listen to them refused to believe their own players their own stars I will never understand and for those of you that might be tempted to say well you know I understand why people boo the knee have to tell you this.

The people that I saw at Wembley Boone the knee who were absolutely in the minority but nevertheless weren't libertarian intelligence here they were jobs every single one of them and a lot of the people in that group are scary individuals should not go to a football match you feel scared you shouldn't sit there thinking well I hope there's enough security at this game now have to say.

The vast majority of England fans at every game I went to what were lovely and I guess that doesn't need saying but nevertheless normal people going to watch football with you know I kind of the crazy dream that we might win something and all the exuberance and fun that goes with it the vast majority but that hard core are petrifying and I thought if I'd been at that game with a child I think it would have put them off ever going again.

And I didn't see any trouble at the final of the semi final but the people that I saw some of those games that were the hard core element are the scariest people you will ever come face to face with and they don't belong in a football stadium they should never be allowed in I don't know exactly how you police that and I talked to Toby about this about how what you know what is the right level of policing at these games and how you never get it.

The problem is it just becomes how do you basically put them off going in the end and I just hope the more the England show themselves to be a progressive force the more these people are repelled but that is possibly a conversation for a football podcast or something else but these things are political they're not party political but these are issues about not just about racism and that.

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