Westminster Council's Draft Policy Targets 'Vertical Drinking' in Pubs
New licensing proposals recommend fixed seating and reduced capacity, sparking debate over traditional pub culture and mayoral oversight.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Callum Smith
Westminster City Council has unveiled a draft licensing policy recommending pubs reduce 'vertical drinking' and offer fixed seating.
The draft policy actively encourages licensing applications that demonstrate reductions in operating capacity; venues should provide more seating and implement table service instead of open bar space.
Critics claim the council's draft licensing policy amounts to a ban on 'vertical drinkers', with headlines reporting a planned 'standing ban' in West End and Soho pubs. Westminster Council Leader Paul Swaddle denies the plans amount to a ban on 'vertical drinking', stating there is no plan to ban drinking while standing up in a Westminster pub.
Paul Swaddle also claims plans exist to close pubs at 10pm. New pubs in popular nightlife areas, including Soho, are recommended to call last orders at 10pm to reduce noise and disturbance.
The council asserts that drinking standing up is noisy and disruptive, making pubs boisterous places where customers crowd bars, get drunk, and become a nuisance outside.
However, the Labour Party contends that busy pubs full of people talking are not a public nuisance but rather an integral part of British life and a source of thousands of jobs.
The Labour Party also argues that Soho did not become world famous by taking last orders early or switching lights off at 10 o’clock.
Westminster City Council revised its cumulative impact zone policy after the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a presumption of refusal for new licensed venues in areas like Soho and Covent Garden.
This comes as British pubs are closing at a rate of roughly one per day, with numbers reaching an all-time low of 39,000.
An author claims that the loosening of planning laws, allowing the change of use of licensed premises into housing, and the Starmer government's increase in business rates and jobs taxes have contributed to these closures.
Westminster Council Leader Paul Swaddle claims Sir Sadiq Khan is 'propagating' the story in a bid to 'take over licensing'.
London's 33 boroughs currently operate under different licensing policies.
The Soho Society voted for a new licensing mandate at its AGM to challenge new bar and restaurant applications in the area.