Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

Part of Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day] — Housing – in the House of Commons at 4:15 pm on 8 January 2014.

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Photo of Clive Efford Clive Efford Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport) 4:15, 8 January 2014

No. We are saying that we would place betting shops in their own category so that local councils would have to receive a planning application if someone wanted to open a new betting shop.

Today’s vote is not about stakes and prizes; it is about putting power back in the hands of local communities and the councillors who represent them. Taking decisions in the face of opposition from the betting industry will be tough for local councillors, particularly when it comes to removing existing machines. I happen to believe passionately in local democracy; I spent 12 years as a locally elected councillor. I believe that well-informed local councillors are capable of making important decisions that benefit their communities, and that, too often, we here in Westminster have tied the hands of locally elected representatives. It is time to put local people before the vested interests of the powerful betting industry. We should put our trust in local democracy.