London Mayor Sadiq Khan is facing further pressure to follow through with a promise to eradicate gambling advertising from London’s TFL tube network.
A letter sent to City Hall intensified calls for the London Mayor to implement a pledge that he made whilst campaigning four years ago as part of his reelection manifesto.
The letter was backed by 20 members of bereaved families, who have urged the Mayor to follow through on his campaign promise.
Since making the pledge, Khan has backtracked and stated he will wait for government legislation to “provide a national framework to address this issue.”
There has also been opposition from political quarters over the backtracking of Khan, after the mayor was forced to issue a response following a written question from Green Party member of the London Assembly, Caroline Russell, who asked the when he will “implement an ethical advertising policy for [Transport for London], rather than wait for Londoner’ complaints and media outcry to remove gambling adverts from the transport network”.
Khan told Russell that he would not move on the issue until he heard more details about the government’s plans in the area of gambling advertisement.
The general election saw Labour state in its manifesto that it is “committed to reducing gambling-related harm” and in November 2024 announced the introduction of a statutory levy on the research, education and treatment (RET) of gambling harm.
20% of the levy’s revenue will be directed to UK Research and Innovation and the Gambling Commission to conduct research to inform future policy and prevention strategies.
Previously, a spokesperson for the London Mayor told the Evening Standard that Khan is pleased that one of the specific objectives of the new research is seeking to “fill gaps in the evidence base, specifically further understanding the impact of advertising”.
They added: “The mayor hopes that the new Government’s leadership on this will provide a national framework to addressing this issue, including providing a national definition of harmful gambling advertising. Once concluded, the mayor will, in turn, consider how he may be able to support at a regional level.”
