The Labour government will be “more Gareth Southgate, less Michael Gove” than its predecessor in seeking to end culture war divisions and telling an inclusive story about Britain, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has promised.
Speaking from Berlin, where she watched England lose the Euros final to Spain alongside Keir Starmer, Nandy said that whether or not Southgate decided to stay on as the men’s manager, he had made a hugely significant contribution both in terms of football and more widely.
Asked if she thought Southgate should remain in the role, Nandy told Sky News it was “not for me to say”.
She added: “But what I would just say is that the contribution that Gareth Southgate has already made to football is enormous – on the pitch, off the pitch, but also to put together that incredible team of young footballers, drawn from every community across the country, who look and sound and feel like modern Britain.
“When kids were turning on their TV sets last night across England, every single one of them will have been able to see themselves reflected in that team. And in doing so he’s told an inclusive story about the country that we can be.
“It has felt very difficult for people to feel part of our national story, and it’s firmly my intention that this government will be different, will be far more Gareth Southgate, and far less Michael Gove.
“The era of division needs to end, and I think this team and Gareth Southgate in particular has shown the leadership that we need in some really difficult times for this country. So we owe him an enormous debt, whatever he decides to do in the future.”
However on Monday, Downing Street declined to be drawn on whether Southgate would receive a knighthood. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “He has provided great leadership, he has done the country proud, but I wouldn’t get into commentary around honours.”
Nandy’s arguments echo a speech she made to her department last week when she said the “era of culture wars is over”, promising her department would be at the heart of efforts to reflect a more positive and less divisive vision of the UK.
Discussing the gun attack against Donald Trump at the weekend, after which Starmer spoke to the former US president to express his sympathies, Nandy told Sky that the just-ended British election had been “the most toxic that I can ever remember being part of”.
She added: “I’m really pleased that we have a prime minister and a government that is firmly committed to ensuring that wherever violence is found that we utterly condemn it as our first and our last response.”
Nandy, who promised new investment in grassroots football, said that despite the loss the England team had “done us proud”.
She added: “I think nobody was more disappointed than the prime minister who was very famously a huge football fan. But it was an incredible achievement to get there.”
