It appears that even 48 hours is a long time in politics. At the Conservative Party Conference I was on a panel hosted by Conservative Home and LGBT Conservatives talking about our upcoming report on London’s nightlife.
Two days later one of our ten recommendations had already implemented itself with London’s widely criticised £132,000 per year Night Czar stepping down.
Our report, Fixing London’s Nightlife: Industry Led Solutions, was compiled after months of work with sector experts who care about rebuilding and revitalising London’s night-time economy which has struggled terribly in recent years.
Launched on Thursday, it detailed ten key recommendations to bring back the glory days of London’s nightlife, including setting up a Nightlife Prosperity Fund, providing 24/7 public transport – with greater coverage – and improving the safety of Londoners at night in particular women and girls.
It also made clear that London had lost confidence in Amy Lamé, the Night Czar, and that she ought to be replaced by a voluntary industry expert.
Conservative Home’s Angus Parsad-Wyatt joked at our panel that people in the audience of the panel would be playing Amy Lamé Bingo: I still admit I was surprised by the strength of feeling in the room against her and the support for me when I said it was time she was sacked.
Imagine my surprise when travelling home from the Conference, news broke that she is standing down after costing London almost £1,000,000; money that could have been put directly into preserving the industry.
Like many good nights out, most will have little memory of her record over the last eight years and whilst this news is welcome, it is still unclear why she is going now and whether she will be replaced.
London’s night-time economy is calling out for a strong champion like Sacha Lord in Manchester. A champion who was vocal during Covid restrictions about the impact on businesses, a champion who has actively contributed to London’s nightlife, and a champion who importantly is prepared to advise unpaid to maximise the financial capital available to support businesses.
When pubs across the capital take last calls at 9:30 pm and licencing authorities continue to clamp down on businesses that just want to serve sausage rolls at 11 pm at night, it is clear to see that in no time at all London risks having the nightlife of a collection of small villages sewn together.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan must act now, fully implementing our report to avoid this tragedy in a city that is rapidly losing the ability to call itself a 24-hour metropolis.
LATEST OPINION FROM MEMBERSHIP:
The danger of dwindling nightlife is fuelled further by a Labour Government elected on a promise of ‘Change’, which failed to mention that a large percentage of that change would be focused on dismantling the UK’s proud pub industry. A smoking ban in beer gardens, pint prohibition and even rumours of restrictive opening hours.
So while the resignation of Amy Lamé is welcomed, the battle to address the decline of the Great British night out is far from over. We must look ahead to what needs to be done to make up for the eight years of failure under the watch of Sadiq Khan.
The Mayor needs to reach out to businesses, as we at City Hall Conservatives have, and listen to their concerns.
I hope he takes our report to heart and chooses a successor for Lamé that isn’t a waste of money or an insult to businesses. For now, we can all raise a glass to the possibility of change, as long as in London you do it before 9.30 pm.