David Lammy asks David Cameron what he's going to do about betting shop proliferation in Tottenham

At Prime Ministers Questions today (16/06/2010), Tottenham MP David Lammy invited Prime Minister David Cameron to the Tottenham High Road to see for himself the problems caused by the saturation of betting shops on that High Street.

He said:

“Mr. Speaker, can I invite the Prime Minister….to walk from Seven Sisters tube station to Spurs at White Hart Lane. On that journey, he will see a proliferation of betting shops. Will he give local authorities the power to deal with the saturation of betting shops which prey on poor and working people.”

To which David Cameron replied:

“…I will say to the Hon. Gentleman that there is a balance to strike…some of the deregulation that took place was necessary in order not to have over-regulation of these sectors…but yes I do think there is a case to give local authorities the latitude to decide over some of these things…”

After PMQs, David remarked:

“After all the talk of localism and big society, it is time David Cameron comes good on his word – local residents should have the power to say enough is enough when it comes to betting shops.”

“I will not accept anything less than the Prime Minister matching Labour’s commitment to give councils the power to oppose more betting shops if there are enough already in an area.”

David has been campaigning for the last year for a change in the law. He has written for the Evening Standard on the topic and persuaded the Labour Party to include a commitment to empower local councils and residents to oppose further betting shops in the 2010 Labour Manifesto.