Independent, The (London): Labour MPs vent their anger at gambling reforms by halving

TONY BLAIR'S plans to introduce Las-Vegas-style casinos in Britain were dealt a serious blow last night after 29 Labour MPs rebelled against the Bill and more than halved the Government's majority.

Attempts by Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, to defuse a Labour revolt with last-minute concessions proved insufficient yesterday to convince angry backbenchers to support plans to allow super-casinos to be built in towns throughout Britain,

The Government's majority was slashed to 74 votes, as a raft of Labour MPs voted with the Tories and Liberal Democrats against the proposals in the gambling Bill which received a hostile reception at its second reading in the Commons.

Many other Labour MPs abstained or stayed away from the vote to register their protest at the establishment of American-style super casinos, which they argued would create more gambling addicts and harm low-income families.

The bill was passed by just 286 to 212 last night, a majority of 74, at the end of a heated six-and-a-half-hour debate.

Among the rebels were the former cabinet ministers Clare Short and Frank Dobson who marched into the `no' lobby alongside Tory and Liberal Democrat MPs to register their discontent.

The scale of the Labour rebellion will shock the Government, which proposed a series of climb-downs that tightened planning controls on the building of the casinos in Britain.

But even promises of further concessions were insufficient to buy off the Labour rebels who called for a "cap" on the number of casinos to be inserted in the legislation.

Angry Labour MPs, including the former minister Frank Field, spoke vociferously against the proposals, urging colleagues to send a stark signal to the Government that they wanted greater controls.

Frank Dobson, the former health secretary, said there was no public demand for casinos in Britain which would be "bad for hard working families".

"There's no public demand for it and it's coming from American gambling companies.

"They (the companies) may have changed but, in the eyes of the British public, they are connected with organised crime, money laundering, with drugs and prostitution. That's the sort of word association that people have and I think it's very damaging to our party at the moment and it makes people wonder `well, why are they doing it?'"

Mr Field, a leading rebel, urged MPs to demonstrate the strength of their feeling in order to convince ministers that the Bill would have to be changed.

"The more of us who say to the Government that we are unhappy with this proposal, that we are going to vote against or abstain, the more power we will have when we come to the report stage," he said.

Ministers are now expected to offer further concessions to rebels to try to quell the Labour rebellion. They fear the Bill could be stopped in its tracks in the House of Lords.

Yesterday, Tessa Jowell agreed to tighten the planning rules for casinos in a last- minute attempt to defuse a rebellion. Local authorities would have a "duty to consult" local people before a casino was built and not just the ability to do so.

Ms Jowell suggested that the prospect of a casino operator offering millions of pounds for regeneration might sway matters too far in the gambling industry's favour.

"I understand concerns that have been expressed ... that local authorities may find the development benefits too tempting to resist," she said.

She also agreed to toughen the law to prevent buildings such as leisure centres being converted into casinos without going through the full planning processes by applying for "change of use" approval.

"The Government does not want casinos to be allowed in by the back door," she said. "We aim to ensure new casinos are taken forward through the development plan-making process." Ms Jowell signalled the Government may be prepared to beat a further retreat - including limitations on the number of Las Vegas-style casinos - as the Bill progresses through Parliament.

"This is not the end of the story and I suspect further discussion about this when we come to committee," she said in the Commons, where the Bill had its second reading. "As on every aspect of this Bill, let me reassure the House once again that I am listening and open to new ideas."

Aides to Ms Jowell suggested the Government may consider giving the new gambling watchdog the power to impose a limit or "flexible cap" on the number of casinos that could be built after MPs indicated they wanted no more than 20 to 40.

The Secretary of State also came under pressure to impose a limit on the number of fruit machines which could have jackpots of more than pounds 1m.

THE REBELS

Labour MPs who voted against the Gambling Bill's second reading were:

David Chaytor (Bury North)

Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)*

Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Denzil Davies (Llanelli)

Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras)

David Drew (Stroud)

Frank Field (Birkenhead)

Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central)

Win Griffiths (Bridgend)

John Grogan (Selby)

David Hinchliffe (Wakefield)

Kate Hoey (Vauxhall)

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North)

Alan Hurst (Braintree)

Jon Owen Jones (Cardiff Central)

Terry Lewis (Worsley)

John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington)

Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock)

Alice Mahon (Halifax)

David Marshall (Glasgow Shettleston)

Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby)

Gordon Prentice (Pendle)

Ken Purchase (Wolverhampton North East)

Brian Sedgemore (Hackney South & Shoreditch)

Clare Short (Birmingham Ladywood)

Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)

Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent)

David Taylor (Leicestershire North West)

Robert Wareing (Liverpool West Derby)

Betty Williams (Conwy)

David Winnick (Walsall North)

* recorded as having voted both "Aye" and "No"