Will UK minister quit due to FOBT delay?
News on 2 Nov 2018
News on 2 Nov 2018
A report in the UK newspaper The Telegraph that the government’s junior culture minister, Tracey Crouch, has threatened to resign over delays in the implementation of a new law restricting Fixed Odds Betting Terminal stakes to a GBP 2 maximum is currently receiving wide coverage in the UK on air and in print media.
The row is over the announcement in yesterday’s budget speech that the changes will be implemented in October 2019 rather than sooner. Crouch and former Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, were both zealous supporters of the cuts, and Crouch was reportedly furious at the decision to implement in October next year rather than April.
Crouch, who is out of the country at present, has not commented directly on the Telegraph report, and government spokesmen have explained that the decision was “a balance between making sure we protect those who work in the industry and making sure that we bring in this really important change.”
Predictably, the opposition Labour Party has attacked the government on the delay, claiming a verbal pledge was made to execute the cuts in April 2019. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright’s riposte in the Commons today (Thursday) was that the Opposition had mistaken the planned date for 2019 when it was actually April 2020; he therefore argued that implementation was in fact being executed early.
Labour has told the BBC that they will put down an amendment to the Finance Bill to try and bring in the changes next April.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTs, another aggressive supporter of FOBT stake cuts, is to consider what further action to take regarding the budget decision at a meeting next week.
UPDATE:
Confirmation that Crouch has resigned came late Thursday and was widely publicised by the UK media.
In a tweet explaining her position on the FOBT issue, Crouch wrote: “It is with great sadness I have resigned from one of the best jobs in Government. Thank you so much for all the very kind messages of support I have received throughout the day. Politicians come and go but principles stay with us forever.”
News on 2 Nov 2018
A report in the UK newspaper The Telegraph that the government’s junior culture minister, Tracey Crouch, has threatened to resign over delays in the implementation of a new law restricting Fixed Odds Betting Terminal stakes to a GBP 2 maximum is currently receiving wide coverage in the UK on air and in print media.
The row is over the announcement in yesterday’s budget speech that the changes will be implemented in October 2019 rather than sooner. Crouch and former Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, were both zealous supporters of the cuts, and Crouch was reportedly furious at the decision to implement in October next year rather than April.
Crouch, who is out of the country at present, has not commented directly on the Telegraph report, and government spokesmen have explained that the decision was “a balance between making sure we protect those who work in the industry and making sure that we bring in this really important change.”
Predictably, the opposition Labour Party has attacked the government on the delay, claiming a verbal pledge was made to execute the cuts in April 2019. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright’s riposte in the Commons today (Thursday) was that the Opposition had mistaken the planned date for 2019 when it was actually April 2020; he therefore argued that implementation was in fact being executed early.
Labour has told the BBC that they will put down an amendment to the Finance Bill to try and bring in the changes next April.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTs, another aggressive supporter of FOBT stake cuts, is to consider what further action to take regarding the budget decision at a meeting next week.
UPDATE:
Confirmation that Crouch has resigned came late Thursday and was widely publicised by the UK media.
In a tweet explaining her position on the FOBT issue, Crouch wrote: “It is with great sadness I have resigned from one of the best jobs in Government. Thank you so much for all the very kind messages of support I have received throughout the day. Politicians come and go but principles stay with us forever.”
