E47: What's the point of a Sports Minister?

What’s the point of a sports minister? This was the first question to Tracey Crouch MP, who carried out the role between 2015 and 2019, before resigning on a point of principle - a rare thing these days - over the government’s delay in acting to reduce the harms inflicted by fixed odds betting terminals in betting shops. The conversation ranges from how things work in Westminster, or don’t, the role of lobbying, the limits of government power and the peculiar remit of the sports portfolio. There’s plenty of other stuff too, like her Spurs fandom - yet another high profile sports biz person who supports the right side - and the future of women’s football in the UK.Our thanks to The Playbook for helping organise this podcast and for hosting us at their brand new offices in Farringdon.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.