Labour Party propose gig ticket price caps and new anti-tout measures
"Labour will cap resale prices and ban ticket hoarding. Culture should be for fans, not excessive profits,” Keir Starmer said today.
The Labour Party has laid out new proposals to cap ticket prices for gigs and toughen restrictions against touts.
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In a speech this morning at the Labour Creatives Conference, leader Sir Keir Starmer said that if his party were to win this year’s General Election, he would bring in new legislation tackling inflated prices for live music events.
Starmer said: “Access to music, art and theatre for hard working Brits can’t be at the mercy of ruthless ticket touts driving up prices.
“Hours spent refreshing ticket resale websites only to pay through the nose to see an artist you love, is frustrating and unfair.
He added: “Labour will cap resale prices and ban ticket hoarding. Culture should be for fans, not excessive profits.”
According to The Sun, those proposals include imposing a maximum percentage above the original price that resellers can charge, which is thought to be around 10 per cent.
Also speaking at this morning’s event was Will Young, who supported the new policy and said: “This will ensure that more people can get to events for the correct and fair price and that people passionate about the arts win rather than those looking to misuse the system for financial gain, putting fans back at the heart of music.”
Last year, Ticketmaster announced a fresh plan to allow fans to contribute directly to the Music Venue Trust (MVT) in a bid to help support UK grassroots venues.
The ticket site will now provide a Music Venue Trust charity upsell option, giving fans the chance to make direct contributions to the Trust when they purchase tickets.
It comes after criticism of the platform for using ‘surge pricing’ for high-demand events, leading to higher ticket prices for consumers.