To think the propsed leader of the Lib Dems should know who the captain of the Lionesses is?

[Fibbke]

Because i do.

And what is it with leaders??
Boris or Jeremy - awful
Jeremy Corbyn - awful
Ed Davey or Jo Swinson - awful

Not that I think much of the Lib Dems generally(or any party right now, to be honest.)

Well I wouldn’t know either 🤷🏻‍♀️

I read the newspaper every day (The Times) and I have no idea who the Lionesses' captain is.

It is daft to expect a politician to know details of any particular hobby/sport/interest - whether it is niche or mainstream - they have bigger fish to fry - the economy, Brexit, health, education, defence, anti-terrorism etc etc.

If a politician couldn't name the leader of another nation or didn't understand major economic theories - that would be an issue - but not knowing a sports person really isn't.

The only time it would be an issue would be if they were going to meet said sports person - and then they would be briefed on the people they were meeting.

I am willing to bet that there are plenty of politicians who are not au fait with the names of leading sports stars - at least Jo Swinson has been honest about it - and I am sure she would find out about the Lionesses and their captain if she were going to meet them.

Did they know who's captain of the English cricket team? Do you? The men are playing a world Cup too.

They aren't known as the LibDims for nothing

Does not knowing who a particular footballer is make you dim? Such a view suggests you have a very narrow outlook on life.

(It's Steph Houghton btw, although she may not be playing tonight, in which case someone else will be captain so all a bit redundant!)

I haven't the slightest interest in sport at all and will turn off tv/radio if it comes on. I don't think it's something anyone needs to know unless they're into it.

Do you know who the British darts champion is? Same thing IMO.

And Lionesses is a shit name for a team. Far too long.

I don’t think the aim of entering politics should be to “ingratiate” myself with anyone. Politics is a serious business, for people with wide-ranging knowledge and interests. For you to specify one - very modish - piece of information you believe someone should know before they can represent me, is very silly.

I know who this team are but have no idea who the players are.
I don't want populists able to spout a few in touch with the common people facts.
I want serious people who understand complicated issues don't have simple answers.
People who are focused on political issues not the back sheets of the newspapers.
We get the politicians we deserve and if we focus on who can make pub small talk we only have ourselves to blame if that is the caliber of politician we end up with.

Almost unanimous then, OP. Politicians probably have quite a lot of important things they have to know about and remember. The name of a person kicking a ball around a field isn't one of them.

I'm a bit surprised that the Lib Dem leadership candidates didn't find this out if they were going to be interviewed, but a Scottish MP I'd expect to know more about the Scottish team than the English one.

Though honesty is better than Gordon Brown's love of the Arctic Monkeys or David Cameron's love of the Smiths which seemed both to be fake.

I'd choose Jo Swinson (or Ed Davey) to lead the country over either of the Tory candidates or the apologist for anti-semitism Jeremy Corbyn.

I think that's way down on the list of things I'd expect a senior politician to know. It definitely comes way after a basic grasp of the principles of economics and issues like health provision, social care, housing and crime.

You know, stuff that really affects the quality of people's lives.

YABU. It's sport. Not at all interesting IMO or relevant to what they are doing.

Anyway, she said a man she works with would know so that's fine

She said her son would know. Maybe if you stopped worrying about footballers names you would follow what people say in interviews a bit better.

I'm not sure that this is the biggest issue facing our country at the moment.

This!

I'd like them to concentrate on Brexit, the failing economy, creeping privatisation of the NHS, soaring numbers of homeless people and foodbank users, the increase in racially-motivated hate crime..... I know we all need to kick back a bit sometimes but I want party leaders to focus on the important stuff not crowd-pleasing trivia right now.

I couldn't give a shit if anyone in here doesn't know her name. I think anyone who is trying to ingratiate themselves with their country should bloody know!

If all it takes for a politician to "ingratiate themselves" with the electorate is knowing about football then frankly that reflects badly on us as a nation and goes some way to explaining how we've gotten into the appalling mess we're in!

I'm not sure whether or not my MP has ever watched my favourite film. How does deselection work?

I didn't know who the Lionesses were and don't know who the captain is. I'd rather an MP is honest and says they don't know something (or don't care) . Preferable to David Cameron pretending to like football but not being able to name his team.

I literally could not care less how many footballers, male or female, a politician can name. It is totally irrelevant to their competence in their jobs. I’d rather they knew something about economics, world affairs and history, all of which might be some use to them.

Or should they have a grasp of basic economics, how the education system works, how the NHS is run, recognise Leaders of other countries and know their names, appreciate how the benefits system impacts on normal people, understand how hard our police, medics, fire crews work for little money?
This! This is what I want people in power to know. I don't care if they don't know about football/X-Factor winners/Who's number one.

I think it shows an absolute lack of interest in anything that isnt Westminster. Crap.

This comment is utterly stupid, in fact I find it hard to believe OP is serious.

It's not a binary choice of Westminster v Women's Football. There are thousands of other interests people could have.

It's sport.

Imo sport is a great thing .. for kids.

Adults doing full time sport is really odd imo.

I think anyone who is trying to ingratiate themselves with their country should bloody know!

If you seriously think a majority of English people can name the captain of the women's football team you're deluded. It's hardly an integral part of identifying with your country, is it?

YABU. I like Touring Cars and Superbikes, are they expected to know the name of the British drivers/riders?

If you read a newspaper every day you would know!

2009 called, they want their method of receiving news back please.

Even when I read a newspaper every day I would have no clue who the England captain was. Like many PPs I had no idea what the Lionesses were until I read the thread and think YABVU.

Politicians should be who they are, not pretend to be interested in everything popular. Boris Johnson is going to be Prime Minister for that reason- he's genuine about who he is.

(In case anyone was unsure: who he is, is a slimy git)