As the 4th of July General Election is looming, we look at the main Political Party's Manifestos, with a particular emphasis on licensing and community safety related announcements.

The Institute does not take any particular position in relation to any of the main Political Party's Manifestos, and these are taken from a summary provided by the Local Government Association.  In alphabetical order:

Conservative Party

• bring forward our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill in our first King’s Speech
• "committed" to banning the import of hunting trophies and tackling puppy smuggling and livestock worrying
• "urgently" introduce Martyn’s Law, in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was tragically killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. This will ensure premises are better prepared for terrorist attacks by requiring them to take proportionate steps to mitigate risks
• launch a review of the nighttime economy in England, looking at how to reverse the decline in pubs and clubs and how to make our towns and cities great places to go out

Green Party

• create a new Commission on Animal Protection, responsible for overseeing all rules designed to protect animals from cruelty and upholding their rights as sentient beings not to be subjected to undue suffering. This Commission will ensure that the highest standards of animal protection are applied to companion animals, farm animals and wildlife - and that these standards underpin decision making by public bodies too.

• We will enhance regulation and controls on the breeding, sale and import of companion and all animals, including action to stop cruel practices such as ear cropping and pet smuggling.

• Green MPs will introduce a licensing scheme for the ownership of all kept animals and replace outdated breed-specific legislation for dogs with an updated dog control law.

• Invest £5 billion investment in community sports, arts and culture.

• Support local grassroots sports clubs, music and art venues.

• Protect the night-time economy through a review of planning regulations and giving local authorities the powers to ensure there is space for cultural life.

• Exempt cultural events, including everything from theatre and museum tickets to gigs in local pubs, from paying VAT.

Labour Party

• reform gambling regulation, "strengthening protections" and continue to work with the industry on how to ensure responsible gambling.
• bring in ‘Martyn’s Law’ to strengthen the security of public events and venues. We will update the rules around counterextremism, including online, to stop people being radicalised and drawn towards hateful ideologies.
• introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.
• will introduce a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime.

Liberal Democratic Party

• Introducing regulations to halt the dangerous use of vapes by children while recognising their role in smoking cessation for adults, and banning the sale of single-use vapes.
• Scrapping Police and Crime Commissioners and replacing them with local Police Boards made up of councillors and representatives from relevant local groups, while investing the savings in frontline policing.
• Establish creative enterprise zones to grow and regenerate the cultural output of areas across the UK.
• Combat the harms caused by problem gambling by (Pg. 85):
• • Introducing the planned compulsory levy on gambling companies to fund research, prevention and treatment.
  • Restricting gambling advertising.
  • Establishing a Gambling Ombudsman to redress wrongs.
  • Implementing effective affordability checks.
  • Taking tough action against black market gambling.