Gary Neville calls for a general election as government are ‘absolute sham’

There was a chaotic night in Parliament with the Conservative whip and deputy whip resigning and un-resigning

Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has called for a general election as the current government are an “absolute sham”.

Neville has been public of his criticism of the Conservative government for years and a call for a vote came after a chaotic day in Parliament. During a vote on banning fracking there were reports of “manhandling” with the whip and the deputy whip resigning and un-resigning.

It has led to more MPs calling for Prime Minister Liz Truss to be ousted and Neville reacted to a story saying a lot of politicians want Boris Johnson back in charge.

He tweeted: “General Election! This lot are an absolute sham!”

It is clear who Neville would vote for if there were a general election after he made an appearance at the Labour Party Conference in September, but he has ruled out becoming an MP himself.

“It’s something that I’ve been asked regularly over the last 12 to 18 months,” he said. “I’ve got no intention of going into politics at all because the reality is I love what I do so much.

“I love what I do in football. I love what I do in Greater Manchester with the businesses that I co-own. And I have to say that I wouldn’t want to give that up. I feel as though I’m happy in what I’m doing.

“I want to continue to do the things that I’m doing locally in Greater Manchester. I have to say that I feel politically motivated, but I can do as much, I think, for the Labour Party being here today as I can do being an MP.”