Gag-a-minute Gary a winner for Labour
On the pitch, England legend Gary Neville was a tough-tackling, no-nonsense defender. A bit dour, perhaps. Grumpy and not exactly a bundle of laughs.
But from the moment he stepped on to the political playing field at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, the Sky Sports football pundit was gag-a-minute Gary.
During a Q&A with the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the former Manchester United captain made several amusing references to his bitter rivalry with Liverpool FC and its players.
“Usually when I see red in Liverpool I’m in trouble,” he said at the start of the half-hour session. “It’s the best reception I’ve ever had in Liverpool.”
When the Labour leader said he plays five-a-side every Sunday, Neville quipped: “Make sure you play left-of-centre midfield.”
And in a verdict on Labour’s conference at the end of day two, he added: “That left wing is being a bit noisy.”
As Labour’s Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell asked him if he’d seen the Women’s Euros trophy on display at the conference, he said: “I’ve never seen an international trophy.”
And when claimed Liz Truss’s “failing government” was in stoppage time, he said: “She’s tanked the pound lower than my reputation in Liverpool.”
Controversially, recalling the PM’s past as a Liberal Democrat and a Remainer, he wondered whether she opposed windfall taxes on energy companies because she once worked at Shell.
And referring to the freeze on alcohol duties in Kwasi Kwarteng’s Budget on Friday, he quipped: “Perhaps she had a part-time gig at Bargain Booze!”
His party conference debut was a game of two halves for the former footballer, who joined the Labour Party earlier this year and has been tipped for a move into politics.
But in the first half, as fans crammed into an auditorium in the city’s convention centre for a morning fringe event, he said: “I’ve no intention of going into politics at all.”
Discussing proposals by the former Tory Sports Minister Tracey Crouch for an independent regulator of football, he showed off all his Sky Sports commentating flair.
“The cross has been played into the box,” he said, as if he was alongside commentator Martin Tyler in the gantry. “All Liz Truss and her Cabinet need to do is head it into the back of the net.”
One thing all party leaders have in common is that they love to have celebrity supporters on their team. And Neville was player of the match here in Liverpool.
Tough and uncompromising as a player, he was a winner on the pitch. And now gag-a-minute Gary looks like a vote winner for Labour.