Golf to make a noise in parliament

A newly-formed Parliamentary Group which has been set up to discuss golf held its first meeting in Westminster on Tuesday evening (January 19).

But how did the idea of the group come about and what does it hope to achieve? We spoke to vice-chairman of the group Stephen Gethins, MP for North East Fife, who gave us a clearer picture.

Q: So Stephen, could you tell us a bit more about this new parliamentary group for golf is all about?

A: “Basically we’ve set up an all-party group, so it includes members from different parties across the House of Commons and the House of Lords as well, and the main idea is to have a forum to discuss and promote golf in parliament.

“The real focus of the group, rather than the sport itself although it’s obviously important, is in particular looking at the health and economic benefits to local communities of golf and the industry. For Karl , the group chairman, that’s something which is important to him and it’s unquestionably important to me if I think about all the small businesses who benefit from the industry in my constituency when the Open comes here.”

Q: Did you feel as though you had to get involved in the group being the MP for North East Fife, the constituency St Andrews lies in?

A: “It was something I wanted to be involved in so I helped found it because it’s important. There was a recent report released by the R&A which showed that there was over £50m of benefits brought to Fife as a result of hosting the Open and there was a BBC article which suggested that last year’s tournament had the biggest impact ever with £140m brought into the Scottish economy. You can just imagine the sort of benefit that brings to cafes, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and pubs the length and breadth of my constituency and beyond.”

Q: Will the group look at anything besides the health and economic benefits?

A: “We’ll look at participation as well because obviously that links to and promotes the health benefits. It’s a great sport to play and be involved in and it’s fun. But much more than that, it keeps people active and social, so although the finances are important and you can understand why somebody in my position is highlighting those, the health benefits are also just as important throughout life.”

Stephen Gethins MP. Credit: thesaint-online.co.uk

Q: Are there any other sporting groups such as this one in parliament that you were influenced by in setting this up?

A: There are one or two other groups of this kind in parliament: one for football supporters and another for rugby league that I know of. But I wouldn’t say we were necessarily influenced as this was one that a couple of us MPs thought about setting up because we had particular golfing interests.

“Parliament discusses and has an influence on a wide range of sports, industries and communities so it’s really important to try and interact as much as possible with those who are involved and that’s the focus for me.”

Q: It says on your website that you have a partnership with the R&A. How did that come about and were they fully supportive of the group’s formation?

A: “The R&A have been very supportive. We met up with them in parliament and spoke about the work that we were doing and as a result, they were really behind it. I’m pleased because the R&A are obviously based in St Andrews and are an important part of the community here so I’m delighted that they decided to get involved.

“Our two organisations both have different objectives but I think in the interests of promoting the sport and showcasing its benefits, our objectives cross over at that point so where they crossed over it made sense to form a working partnership.”

Q: What are the group’s short-term and long-term aims?

“What we’re trying to achieve is to make sure golf continues to be an open, accessible and successful sport that benefits people throughout the community: the players and also local businesses because golf is an important part of day-to-day life, especially in my constituency of North East Fife.

“It’s about providing a forum for discussing the sport in parliament among a group of influencers but more importantly, to make sure there’s a conduit by which those who play, are involved, and benefit from the sport indirectly (eg. small businsses) can have a means of getting their views across in parliament and I would encourage anybody to get in touch with my office with ideas and issues about what we should be discussing.

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