Nottinghamshire MP suggests Marcus Rashford should pay for 3G pitches

Conservative MP Ben Bradley has joked that footballer Marcus Rashford could be taxed to pay for “3G” football pitches.

Speaking at a TaxPayers’ Alliance fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the MP for Mansfield, who is also Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said new taxes on the high earners were “not ideal”, but added: “I was talking to the FA the other day about their need for more 3G football pitches and I thought ‘you could tax Marcus Rashford for that’ – so maybe there are examples.”

The Football Association is currently bidding to upgrade its grounds to ‘3G’ (Third Generation) pitches, which consist of synthetic turf, sand infill and rubber infill.

Rashford has spearheaded high profile campaigns against child hunger and the cut to Universal Credit set to come into force this month.

Bradley also told the event that he was unsure if the government’s National Insurance rise was “the right thing to do” but said, “the proof would be in the pudding”.