The Labour party said that a Labour government "would take action to enforce a Premier League commitment" to invest 5% of the proceeds from lucrative TV rights deals in grassroots sport, according to Andrew Woodcock of the PA. Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said that the move could unlock £400M ($585M) "to nurture the talents of the next generation of stars over the course of the next parliament." Burnham accused PM David Cameron "of failing to get tough on the Premier League despite a massive increase in its TV revenues during his time in power." Although the league puts £168M ($246M) into grassroots sport, the Labour party said that "this represents only a fraction" of the £5B it has taken in from TV deals between '13 and '16. Burnham said, "TV rights have soared by over 160 percent, but David Cameron has failed to make sure that the game's elite honors its obligations to the next generation coming through. Football at grassroots is struggling and, in many cities, Premier League stadia loom over run-down changing rooms and overgrown pitches. The gap between top and bottom in our national sport has never been wider" (PA, 4/12).
