Keir Starmer wants children up and ready for school on Monday morning regardless of the England game being played at 1am UK time.
After England qualified for the next round of the World Cup on Wednesday evening after their win against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the head coach, Thomas Tuchel, urged parents to let their children bunk off school so they could stay up to watch the match against Mexico. Play could last until at least 3am.
Tuchel said: “Write an excuse for school and let them watch football. They have so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch, there will be a big, big match in four days and we need the support of everyone and especially of the children.”
Starmer's stance
But Starmer disagrees. When asked if children should stay up to watch the game, his spokesperson said: “It is up to parents to make their own decisions. We want everyone to enjoy the game but children should be at school on Monday.”
The spokesperson added: “The education minister Jacqui Smith put it very well. She is having a disco nap on Sunday and then back at work next day … the prime minister is facing the same dilemma as everyone else on whether to stay up.”
England will travel to the Azteca stadium in Mexico City – where the Argentinian player Diego Maradona scored his “Hand of God” goal against England 40 years ago in the 1986 World Cup.
Education minister's advice
The babysitting app Bubble said there had been a 50% rise in Monday morning bookings as parents appeared to be opting for late-night football over the school run.
Smith suggested young people would miss out on important learning if they followed Tuchel’s lead and wrote excuses to schools. She told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “I don’t want to be a killjoy, but I’ll tell you what the biggest killjoy is – young people who don’t have the learning to be able to go on and do what they need to do in life.
“I quite understand if people want to watch the match, including young people – I will be. I’ll be having a little disco nap in the afternoon and I’ll be celebrating our victory the next morning when I go into work, looking obviously as fresh as a daisy.”
Bank holiday hopes
England fans have been campaigning for an emergency bank holiday on Monday so people can watch the game without having to worry about going to work.
But a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that while they were “backing the England team all the way … the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established”.
There could, however, be a bank holiday if England wins the World Cup. Starmer previously teased that an extra bank holiday could happen on 20 July, but said he didn’t want to “jinx” the tournament by announcing one ahead of time.
If Andy Burnham is confirmed as the next Labour leader, as is widely expected, he is likely to take office on 20 July.
