Sadiq Khan has hit out at controversial new plans from Westminster Council that could stop new Soho venues offering “music, dancing and similar entertainment”.
The Conservative-run council is currently consulting on a new draft policy that would cover some of the city’s busiest nightlife districts.
Under the plan, the council says it would “normally refuse” licence applications for new pubs, bars, fast food premises or venues offering “music, dancing and similar entertainment” inside its West End Cumulative Impact Zone, which includes Soho and most of the West End.
Responding to the proposals today (August 6), the Mayor of London wrote: “You can’t run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset.”
“London’s hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth,” he added. “New powers for City Hall will help ensure decisions consider the wider benefits for our city.”
You can’t run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset.
London’s hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth.
New powers for City Hall will help ensure decisions consider the wider benefits for our city.https://t.co/tiU0obRGvg pic.twitter.com/Mg8iQ1Jwtf
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) August 6, 2026
Later this year, Khan is expected to be given new powers that would allow him to intervene in some licensing decisions made by London councils in areas considered important to the city’s night-time economy.
A spokesperson for the mayor told The Guardian: “This is more evidence that restrictive and anti-growth policies aren’t working. At a time when venues need our support more than ever, the rules on licensing are stacked against them.”
The draft policy also takes aim at people standing with drinks in pubs – described as “vertical drinking” – and instead recommends that venues provide more seating and encouraging customers to “sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service”.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has warned that the proposals represent “a significant shit in direction that should concern the entire hospitality sector”.
NTIA CEO Michael Kill has said: “What concerns us is the introduction of policy that appears to favour one style of operation over another without demonstrating that it will deliver better outcomes.”
Westminster Council deputy leader Tim Barnes defended the proposals, saying: “We want people to go out in the West End and have a good time. Our guidance is simply about encouraging venues to manage their customers so people don’t pack on to pavements or excessive drinking doesn’t disturb others passing by.”
Khan and former Night Czar Amy Lamé came under fire in 2024 for claiming that the capital had a “24 hour culture”, with some pointing to the fat that the city’s nightlife was in decline, with a number of clubs are bars shutting down in recent years.
Last year, Westminster Council unveiled a plan to create “quiet nights” and “quiet zones” in its area after receiving noise complaints from local residents.
It comes as venues across the UK continue to face enormous financial pressures. The Music Venue Trust’s latest annual report found that 30 grassroots venues closed permanently and another 48 stopped hosting live music between July 2024 and July 2025, while over 50 per cent of grassroots venues reported no profit over that period and 6000 jobs were lost.
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