A bit O/T. This is a post about politics but I myself am not political as frankly, I don't need any group to tell me how to think. Also in the overall terms of the pandemic, this is small potatoes I realise that but this is, after all, a RL forum.

However, Coronavirus has just inadvertently produced a major example of the political shift that has taken place in the UK.

The 16m pound loan to the game may or may not be enough who knows, but there is a huge political irony in our receiving it at all.

You see for all the class warrior stuff that still persists in the North and around the game it is now a complete myth. Class structure will never die and all countries have one but the one we have desperately been hanging onto is clearly gone, hooray!

Truth is and like it or not had the Corbyn Labour party got in we wouldn't have got the loan. So far away from its roots have the Labour party gone that to a middle-class cosmopolitan London based politician like Jeremy RL wouldn't even have registered. He would have happily let the game die, hard to take but true.

Now the Conservative, most of whom also don't give a toss for RL know what side their bread is buttered. Let there be in no doubt here, that money is our reward. It's not 13 pieces of silver, I say that before someone else uses the tiresome quote, it's a recognition that in voting terms the North is now where it matters.

Inadvertently the virus has highlighted this, It's not the way any of us wanted it but it truly illustrates whats happened. I never thought I'd see the day where RL counted as a vote winner for a Conservative Government. Is it good or bad? Time will tell but for now, it's vital.

As you say FC, regardless of your political persuasion, a big help. Although some will point out its only a loan.... However the terms are "favourable" according to the RFL. in this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/52493621

As you say FC, regardless of your political persuasion, a big help. Although some will point out its only a loan.... However the terms are "favourable" according to the RFL. in this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/52493621

I'm not sure that I agree with you and I'm less sure that a "political" subject should be on the Trinity forum.
Having said that, credit where it's due and those involved in negotiating the loan have done pretty well.

Worth remembering that there will be a full blown economic Schmidt storm following the lockdown and the depth of recession is something that none uf us have ever lived through.
The last 10 years of austerity will seem like the good old days.

This.
A situation such as we have is unprecedented and it's going to come with a huge price tag. Undoubtedly this will fall to the public to pay.
Hindsight is wonderful but shouldn't we have a cash reserve in case of a national emergency? I know it would have to be huge to cover this crisis but some reserve would help!

Maybe we wouldn’t have to get a loan had the Government actually been competent enough to enforce a nationwide lockdown (it is still referred as social distancing FFS) sooner, ensuring tests were available as soon as and then look at restrictions being lifted sooner. This also makes for interesting reading. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... es_Manager Sorry but in the grand scheme of things RL is only a game and this Government has been responsible for thousands of needless deaths with their lackadaisical attitude.

Maybe we wouldn’t have to get a loan had the Government actually been competent enough to enforce a nationwide lockdown (it is still referred as social distancing FFS) sooner, ensuring tests were available as soon as and then look at restrictions being lifted sooner. This also makes for interesting reading. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... es_Manager Sorry but in the grand scheme of things RL is only a game and this Government has been responsible for thousands of needless deaths with their lackadaisical attitude.

Truth is and like it or not had the Corbyn Labour party got in we wouldn't have got the loan. So far away from its roots have the Labour party gone that to a middle-class cosmopolitan London based politician like Jeremy RL wouldn't even have registered. He would have happily let the game die, hard to take but true.


On what factual basis do you make this statement fc?
Perhaps Jeremy Corbyn might not have "offered" a £16,000,000 loan to the RFL on his own volition, but there again has the Tory Sports minister. I think the Government were probably asked by the RFL to loan the money, not just offer it out of the blue.
Your whole post was based upon your own assumption.

And it's hardly the government's fault if people are too stupid to stay at home.

Looks like you've started something here FC old boy, I fully concur with your post btw and don't believe for one moment it was politically motivated, unfortunately some people will use this simply as an excuse for that although surprisingly one or two others haven't risen to the challenge yet although there is time yet if it doesn't get locked, speaking of which my favourite and most sensible post was popTart's who I quote "and it's hardly the governments fault if people are too stupid to stay at home" sums it all up for me.

The thing is, with the £16 million, it's a loan and until there is a way out of the "lockdown" for the sport and some way is found to play RL, a loan on top of accrued losses, just compounds the loss.
It's great that a fund is there that clubs may be able to access and it COULD help some clubs but, the big question for all of us is, how on earth can we play RL in front of paying spectators ??

It may be a loan but it's a lifeline thrown to the sport by the government, god knows how the people at war within the game will use it is anybodies guess, as a taxpayer and especially a none sports lover whichever your political leanings are would you prefer it to be a gift, there are a lot of people out there with far less income than the sporting heroes that are sat at home and are itching to get back playing which ever sport it is because they're bored, there are people without any income at all what would love the chance to work to feed their families and pay the bills without compounding their increasing losses, sport is not the be all and end all it's insignificant compared to what's going on around the world, I watch Wakefield, Barnsley fc, and Yorks cc but put into prospective at the moment they mean absolutely nothing against everything else what's going on.

Typo should say "and" but thanks for pointing out
There are different reasons as to why the death rates are higher in those countries, which if they hadn't taken the measures they'd took would have been far worse. The Uk will overtake all of these and we've supposedly got one of the best health services in the world.

Anyway, back to the OP, this is a loan and RL will need to generate extra income once all this is over to pay it back. Let's hope theres a plan in place to address this