Lewes Football Club has been a community-led club for decades. As the women’s team was playing Crystal Palace on Sunday at the Dripping Pan, we went along before the match to chat to fans.
Grassroots football has a huge role in community cohesion and crime prevention. The youth teams in particular can provide purpose and discipline to young people. As Police & Crime Commissioner I will support football clubs, and their community activities, across Sussex.
I first visited Lewes in 1993 for a Labour event with Mo Mowlem amongst others. As the parliamentary candidate in 2001 I spent a great deal of time there. It’s a unique town. The spirit of Tom Paine hangs over the streets: unconventional, rebellious, querulous, and quirky. How it has never had a Labour MP, I’ll never know.
It’s also the best place to walk down a twitten. You might call it a ginnel, a cut, a snicket, an entry, a passage, or a jitty, but in Sussex it’s a twitten and Lewes has loads.