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Jowell endorses Manchester supercasino bid
The culture secretary today firmly endorsed Manchester's bid for a supercasino as she set the stage for a showdown Commons vote on the controversial choice.Despite strong opposition among MPs, Tessa Jowell is now convinced by the Casino Advisory Panel's recommendation on the location of the first super-casino.
She today pinned the government's casino strategy on an all-or-nothing vote in which MPs will be asked to endorse Manchester alongside the locations of 16 smaller casinos.
The proposals will be laid before parliament in an affirmative order, which cannot be amended, forcing MPs to accept or reject the package in its entirety.
Ms Jowell, who is understood to be confident about getting the order past parliament, said that it would be debated on the floor of the Commons.
It will be allotted three hours, double the time usually set aside for affirmative orders.
Ms Jowell said: "As the Gambling Act makes clear, it is for parliament to make the final decision about the locations of the new casinos.
"After careful consideration, I have decided to put to parliament the recommendations of the independent Casino Advisory Panel."
Ms Jowell has previously indicated that she was minded to back the recommendations.
But she is now understood to strongly believe the Casino Advisory Panel, which was chaired by Professor Stephen Crow, is right.
Today's move is a blow to MPs who have been trying to persuade her to reject the recommendations and site the first supercasino in Blackpool.
Some 101 MPs - including 80 from Labour - have signed a parliamentary motion expressing "surprise and regret" at the panel's decision in January.
They have urged her to convene a committee to reconsider the recommendation before taking it through parliament.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that they have won the behind-the-scenes backing of the deputy prime minister, John Prescott.
Ms Jowell went on: "I am grateful to Professor Crow and his colleagues for their very thorough analysis of the issues and for producing their final report with real rigour and integrity.
"The order will now be debated and voted on by both houses of parliament.
"Given the exceptional level of interest in the issues, and the importance of parliament being able to properly consider the matter, the debate in the Commons will be an extended one and will take place on the floor of the house itself.
"Many people in this country like to gamble, and it is right that they are properly protected.
"This is not Las Vegas coming to Britain. The Gambling Act brings in tough new controls on gambling, and puts an obligation for social responsibility at the heart of the operation of the new casinos.
"The key reason to limit the number of new casinos is to measure carefully their social impact as well as their regeneration potential."
The panel also recommended that large casinos should be licensed at Great Yarmouth; Kingston-upon-Hull; Leeds; Middlesbrough; Milton Keynes; Newham; Solihull and Southampton.
And it said that small casinos should be sited at Bath and North East Somerset; Dumfries and Galloway; East Lindsey; Luton; Scarborough; Swansea; Torbay and Wolverhampton.
Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Manchester Blackley, said today: "I would expect that the vast majority of Labour MPs and other MPs will vote for that independent panel's recommendation. It was a thorough report."
Mr Stringer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Casino Advisory Panel had demonstrated that Manchester was a better choice for a super-casino than Blackpool.
"The independent panel has done an extremely thorough job," he said. "It is making those recommendations and they can be accepted or rejected.
"I hope and believe that they will be accepted because the case for Manchester is overwhelming.
"There is a lot of detailed analysis that shows that Blackpool didn't meet the criteria."