As it happenedended

Tracey Crouch resigns from government over gambling crackdown row

Ashley Cowburn

Political Correspondent

Thursday 01 November 2018 11:19 GMT

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Tracey Crouch has resigned as the sports minister after the government refused to back down on the timetable for reducing the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

She had lobbied unsuccessfully for the change to be made earlier than the planned date of October 2019.

Betting industry groups had reportedly said they would be ready to implement the cut by next April, but the government confirmed in the Budget that the change would not be made until next October.

The MP tweeted: "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."

In her resignation letter to Ms May, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, implementation of these changes are now being delayed until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests.

"From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its implementation, over £1.6 billion will be lost on these machines.

"In addition, two people will tragically take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, for that reason as much as any other, I believe this delay is unjustifiable.

"I know there is never a good time to resign and appreciate that this will be an unwelcome distraction, but as the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in the House this morning, it is a fact of government that ministers must adhere to collective responsibility and cannot disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made against your wishes relating to your own portfolio."

This liveblog has now closed but you can see the updates below

Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog - we will be bringing you the latest updates from Westminster, as a series of votes are due to be held on Philip Hammond's Budget that was unveiled earlier this week.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 09:54

Labour MPs to revolt against Corbyn’s controversial support for Tory tax cut benefiting top earnersLabour MPs are planning a major revolt against Jeremy Corbyn’s controversial support for a Conservative tax cut that will mainly benefit top earners.The Labour leader has been warned that the move is “unacceptable” to many of his backbenchers ahead of a vote late on Thursday.The leadership will order its MPs to abstain in the vote, but Lisa Nandy, a respected former shadow minister, said many of her colleagues viewed such a tax cut for the rich as “immoral”.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 09:56

↵

Jeremy Hunt insists there will be 'no conflict of interest' if business leaders become ambassadorsJeremy Hunt has insisted plans to allow high-flying business people to become British ambassadors will not lead to conflicts of interest in the posts.The Foreign Secretary unveiled the move in a speech in which he announced a programme to recruit an additional 1,000 diplomatic staff in the UK and abroad.With Brexit just five months away, he told an audience at the Policy Exchange think tank "we must reinvigorate and expand British diplomacy".

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 09:57

Britain can now use its foreign aid budget to help richer countries in crisisWealthy UK overseas territories will be allowed to receive foreign aid after the government secured a “significant” change to international rules.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will now include richer countries that have been affected by natural disasters on a list of nations deserving of aid.It comes after the UK government urged other developed nations to change the rules, pointing out that Caribbean countries damaged by hurricanes last year had not received official assistance because they were deemed too wealthy.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 09:57

Did the Chancellor really hide a National Insurance stealth tax in the Budget?The Chancellor has been accused of imposing “a stealth tax on middle England”. The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that half the income tax cuts in his Budget will be wiped out by a rise in National Insurance (NI) taxes. So what’s happened here? And was there really a hidden NI hike in Philip Hammond’s Budget?

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 10:18

Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, is currently responding to an urgent question on fixed-odds betting terminals - after reports in the Daily Telegraph that one minister in the government department, Tracey Crouch, is on the brink of resigning from her role over a decision to delay the gambling crackdown by several months.

Mr Wright, however, is rejecting the claim in the Commons that the government is delaying the introduction of the crackdown, saying policy has not changed.

Tom Watson, the shadow culture secretary, asks if Ms Crouch is resigning, but Mr Wright plays down the speculation, adding she is "doing an oustanding job as minister for sports and civil society" and deserves considerable credit for the decision to cut the maximum stake at betting terminals from £100 to £2.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 11:03

One week left to agree Brexit deal before deadline, Irish foreign minister warnsBrexit negotiators will have to make progress “in the next week or so” if there is to be any hope of concluding a deal before the end of November deadline, Ireland’s foreign minister has said.Speaking in Paris after a meeting with his French counterparts Simon Coveney said Britain needed to “follow through on the commitments the have already made” on the Irish border issue.EU officials have repeatedly said that December would be too late to sign a withdrawal agreement because of the time needed to ratify such a treaty, which was supposed to be completed by October. But some now believe a lack of progress could mean the deadline slips again.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 11:14

Immigration minister u-turns over claims employers will have to check EU citizens status after BrexitHome Office issues contradictory statement, saying employers would 'not be expected to differentiate between resident EU citizens and those arriving after exit' Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, told MPs that European staff would not have an automatic right to work and firms would have to do "rigorous checks" on European staff to establish whether they were already living in the UK or they had arrived after Britain leaves the EU in March.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 11:29

In regards to speculation regarding Tracey Crouch threatening to resign, the prime minister's spokesperson has just attempted to play down reports at a regular briefing, saying: “As far as I'm aware, the minister has been travelling back from the United States.”

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 11:43

In other news, Downing Street have rejected they are planning an end of round-the-clock "boozing" at airports (as reported by The Sun this morning). The newspaper suggested a Home Office review could see an end to the "morning pint" for travellers.

But at a regular briefing, a spokesperson for the PM said they had "No intention of banning the consumption of alcohol at airports."

The evidence of a problem is "anecdotal", they added, saying the government had simply established a call for evidence to probe the scale of the problem.

Ashley Cowburn1 November 2018 11:53

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