Dawn Butler MP: How we can put our high streets back in local hands

Dawn Butler is MP for Brent East and Chair of the London Parliamentary Labour Party

What should our high streets look like, and who should get to decide?

Across the country, I believe people want high streets that are thriving, welcoming and built around the needs of the local communities who live there. But for too long, local councils have faced rules that make it extremely difficult to say no when gambling venues are proposed.

That is why, after years of campaigning, the Government’s recent announcement that it intends to scrap the outdated “Aim to Permit” principle is such an important moment. It means communities across the country will have a greater say over what happens on their high streets.

Under the Gambling Act, councils currently have a legal duty to aim to permit gambling venues where it is reasonably consistent with the licensing objectives. This shapes how they approach decisions and can make it harder to respond to the concerns of local residents.

One consequence has been the concentration of betting shops, casinos and adult gaming centres on our high streets. I’m sure readers will attest to seeing a number of them within a small radius.

For me, this has always been about something bigger than licensing rules. It is about whether local people should have a meaningful say over the future of the places they call home.

I first identified the problem in 2021, after listening to residents in Brent and producing a report for the Government’s Gambling Review. In my borough of Brent, gambling premises outnumber supermarkets in 17 of 22 wards, and there are 81 licensed gambling premises across the borough.

But Brent was not the only community raising concerns. Across the country, residents and councils have raised concerns about the concentration of gambling venues and associated harms.

I am also concerned by how gambling premises are disproportionately concentrated in economically deprived areas. That is why I began my campaign to scrap Aim to Permit and put power back into the hands of councils and our diverse communities.

I have taken that campaign from the high streets into Parliament and back again. I took a Minister to Brent to see the reality on the ground. I launched a petition so residents could make their voices heard, raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions, led a parliamentary debate and repeatedly pressed Ministers for change.

My cross-party letter to Government was backed by 280 MPs, councillors, mayors and gambling reform advocates, including then-Mayor Andy Burnham. Last summer, I also toured boroughs across London, speaking directly to residents about what they wanted to see in their local areas.

Not one person told me that they wanted to see more gambling venues. The message was clear: people want cafes, bakeries, gyms, florists – high streets that work for them.

Throughout the campaign, I have worked with Brent Council, councillors, elected representatives, campaigners and people with lived experience of gambling harms, alongside organisations including Gambling with Lives and Gambling Harm UK.

Their experience and expertise helped make the case for reform and highlighted the real impact on people. After all, the consequences of gambling-related harm can be devastating. A 2023 Government evidence review estimated that between 117 and 496 deaths by suicide in England each year could be associated with problem gambling or gambling disorder.

So, this campaign was about health, community safety and the kind of places we want to live in.

I have also seen first-hand how B3 gambling machines – found in various gambling premises – generate significant revenue for operators. The question I consistently ask is whether the interests of these establishments should outweigh the voices of the communities in which they operate.

Now, the Government intends to remove Aim to Permit.

I am delighted that the Government has listened and committed to removing it. This campaign is a major victory for London and communities right across the UK. But the job is not done. The Government will consult on the changes before legislation is brought forward, so the work is not finished until they are properly implemented. I urge everyone with views to take part.

But the work doesn’t end there.

As we approach the Autumn Budget, I’m calling for gambling taxes to be increased, to better reflect the wider social harms associated with gambling. I believe those who profit from gambling should pay a fairer share towards addressing the harms it can cause. Our high streets should serve local people, so we must do more to address the harms associated with gambling.

This campaign showed what can happen when residents, elected representatives and campaigners come together, organise and refuse to give up. At its heart was a simple principle: decisions should be made as close as possible to the people affected by them. Our high streets are used by communities every day and those communities should have a genuine say in shaping them.

I said I would fight for London’s high streets. I am proud that, after years of campaigning, this victory will help give communities across the country a greater say over theirs.