Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has called for England’s new kit for the Euros to be scrapped following the decision to swap in a multicoloured St George’s Cross for the traditional red and white one on the shirt.
Nike and England dropped the red and white cross on the collar, replacing it with navy, blue and purple stripes. Nike insisted the “playful update” was meant to “unite and inspire” fans for the 2024 tournament.
The FA was reported as stating that the idea was to honour the “classic colour regime of 1966 training gear” used when England won the World Cup but, after Lee Anderson and Nigel Farage of Reform UK vented their fury, Starmer also followed up in an interview.
The leader of the opposition, currently enjoying a large lead in the polls with an election expected in the autumn, was speaking to the Sun political correspondent Harry Cole and said: “I’m a big football fan, I go to England games, men, women’s games. And the flag is used by everybody, it’s unifying, it doesn’t need to change.
“We just need to be proud of it. So I think they should just reconsider this and change it back.”
Starmer continued: “I’m not even sure they can properly explain why they thought they needed to change in the first place. They could also reduce the price of the shirts.”
The redesigned shirts, which England will be wearing for the first time in their pre-Euros friendly on Saturday at Wembley against Brazil, are retailing at £124.99 for adults and £119.99 for children.
“The England 2024 Home kit disrupts history with a modern take on a classic,” a Nike spokesperson said. “The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple. The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag of St George on the back of the collar.”
Earlier in the day Farage called the design an “absolute joke”, adding on the GB News channel: “It bears no relationship to the St George’s Cross whatsoever.”
Anderson also dismissed the move as “virtue-signalling woke nonsense”, in comments made to the Daily Express.
