Are you happy with all the betting shops, the problems they cause, the effect on your environment? It’s worth asking because for years, local councils have been expected to say yes to new gambling venues, even when communities made clear they did not want them. Now, under new rules announced on Monday, that’s about to change.
Speaking to local residents I hear a clear message time and again: people are fed up with seeing so much gambling where they live, while having little say over whether new venues open. I knew grappling with this issue would be an uphill battle. The gambling industry is lucrative and deeply embedded in our communities.
When I looked into why councils were struggling to stop new betting shops, casinos and adult gaming centres opening, I discovered the problem. At the heart of it was the outdated “aim to permit” principle in the Gambling Act 2005. It meant councils were effectively working against a presumption that gambling premises should be permitted, leaving them limited ability to say no.
This one principle is the root of the crisis on our high streets: it has stripped local people of any real power to shape their own communities, and let the industry expand largely unchecked. So in 2021 I started my campaign to put power back where it belongs: in the hands of councils and local communities. Today, after years of campaigning, I’m delighted to say that we’ve won.
The government has announced it is scrapping aim to permit, giving councils and communities greater power over what happens on their high streets. This is a huge victory for London, and for communities nationwide. But it took years of pressure and persistence to get here.
I took a minister to Harlesden high street to see the reality for themselves. I launched a petition so Londoners could make their voices heard. I organised a cross-party letter backed by more than 280 MPs, councillors, mayors and gambling reform advocates, including the then mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
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