Robin Walker's Westminster Diary - The Worcester Observer

Robin Walker's Westminster Diary

Worcester Editorial 17th Jul, 2021   0

Worcester’s MP Robin Walker writes for the Observer….

UNLIKE many politicians I cannot claim to be any great expert on football, preferring the oval ball and cricket most of the time, but like most of the rest of the country I must admit to getting caught up in the excitement of England’s amazing Euro2020 run.

It was wonderful to see our team in a major international final for the first time in my lifetime and if there was a slight air of inevitability in losing when it came down to penalties, then at least they gave their all through 90 minutes and more of the final and this young side showed themselves to be much more than many of the pundits had predicted.

Football may not be coming home right now but the skills, cohesion, and maturity that the team showed bode well for the upcoming world cup. Despite the disappointment to have come so close and not quite have made it, the whole country should be proud of this young team and the positive way that they played. That any of them should have faced abuse, in particular racism, is totally unacceptable and the tiny minority who indulge in such nonsense, like the idiots throwing fireworks into the crowd in Worcester, deserve to face the full force of the law.




Meanwhile Worcester’s own football club has come home and is at last playing in a ground within the bounds of the city again, our rugby club is preparing for another season in the premiership and our cricket team are enjoying yet another miraculous recovery of the ground at New Road months after it was underwater. We are so fortunate as a city to be home to many sports and recent developments have added netball, basketball, and hockey, not to mention a proper county level swimming pool to our many stringed bows. I was delighted to hear more on a recent visit to our university about their plans for an international centre for inclusive sport and to hear the Arena is in line to be a team camp for the Commonwealth Games. Worcester today is a greater sporting city than ever and long may this continue.

The arts in Worcester are also a key strength and help from the cultural recovery fund has boosted the Swan Theatre, the arches development, the Cathedral and dance within the city, the Future High Streets Fund will support the rebirth of the scala theatre on Angel Place and support the burgeoning cultural quarter and the recent success of the Towns Fund promises more for heritage and the riverside. Worcester is this week to be treated to another wonderful display of creativity for a wonderful cause in the St Richard’s elephant parade. All in all, there are many reasons to be cheerful.


As we head into the Summer, I know that teachers, heads, and pupils alike will be looking forward to a well-earned break. After a year like no other and having worked through many holidays to support their pupils I hope that this time they really can get a break and I wish everyone looking to the end of term an enjoyable and restful holiday. In the hope of a much-needed restoration of normality in the coming weeks, as covid restrictions are eased, I hope people will take the opportunity to enjoy all that is available locally from our wonderful independent shops, bars and restaurants to our cultural venues and sports offer. For the many who will not be traveling abroad this summer we should not forget that Worcester has so much to offer.

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