Starmer urged to scrap ‘outdated’ law limiting power to stop new gambling premises

‘Aim to permit’ rule places legal duty on licensing authorities to err on the side of allowing new bookmakers or 24-hour slot machine shops

Keir Starmer has been urged to abolish an “outdated” rule that limits the power of communities to prevent bookmakers and 24-hour slot machine shops from opening on high streets.

In a letter to the prime minister, nearly 300 politicians and campaigners called for an end to the “aim to permit” policy, introduced when Tony Blair’s Labour government liberalised gambling laws in 2005.