Gary Neville: Ex-England footballer rules out bid to become Labour MP

Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville has said he has "no intention of going into politics" and applying to become a Labour MP.

Neville said he has been asked many times about his political ambitions since joining Labour as a member earlier this year.

But after an event at Labour's conference, Neville insisted he had no desire to seek political office.

He said "I love what I do" and did not need to be an MP to support Labour.

"I feel politically motivated but I can do as much for the Labour Party being here today as I can do being an MP," Neville said.

The Sky Sports pundit and businessman was on the panel of a fringe event about the future of English football and recommendations made in a fan-led review of the game.

Later on Monday, Neville is due to take part in a discussion with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on the main stage at the conference centre in Liverpool, adding a touch of stardust to the political event.

Neville, who co-owns League Two side Salford City FC, is an outspoken critic of the Conservative government and has used his platform to attack its policies.

A by-election to replace Ms Cooper, who is taking a role with the NHS, is expected later in the autumn.

But the football pundit said he thought he would get "eaten alive" in Westminster and questioned whether he had what it took to "survive" in politics.

Neville has also been talked about as a possible future mayor of Greater Manchester, a role currently held by Andy Burnham. "I'm not sure that would be for me to be honest," Neville told Political Thinking in January.

While he ruled out a career in politics at Labour conference, Neville did not shy away from commenting on the Tory government's tax cuts for the wealthy last week.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng abolished the top tax rate for those earning more than £150,000, in a so-called budget designed to boost economic growth.

Neville said he did not support the tax cut, which he said was "a shock".

"It didn't feel like it was reading the room in this country, when people are desperately worrying over the winter about how they are going to heat their homes," he said.

He said many millionaire footballers came from working-class backgrounds and wanted to ensure public services were properly funded instead of seeking tax cuts.

The main purpose of his appearance at the event was to discuss the idea of setting up an independent regulator for English football.

The government gave its formal backing to a regulator in April in its formal response to a fan-led review, but The Times reported that Prime Minister Liz Truss could be set to abandon those plans.

Neville said he would "be very disappointed to say the least if that were to be the case".

He said a regulator would help put football clubs on more stable financial footing and urged the Tory government to bring forward legislation to bring the plan into effect.

Using a football analogy, Neville said: "I have to say, the cross has been played into the box, all Liz Truss needs to do - along with other cabinet ministers - is head it into the back of the net."

Labour has committed itself to bringing forward the legislation needed to underpin a regulator at its annual conference, should the Conservatives not do so.