Starmer urged to scrap ‘outdated’ law limiting power to stop new gambling premises

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Keir Starmer has been urged to abolish an “outdated” rule that limits the power of communities to prevent bookmakers and 24-hour slot machine shops from opening on high streets,In a letter to the prime minister, nearly 300 politicians and campaigners called for an end to the “aim to permit” policy, introduced when Tony Blair’s Labour government liberalised gambling laws in 2005,The rule places a legal obligation on licensing authorities such as councils or the Gambling Commission to err on the side of allowing new gambling premises,“Our high streets are being hollowed out by a surge of betting shops and 24/7 slot-machine venues, while local people are left powerless,” said the Labour MP Dawn Butler, who coordinated the letter,She said the aim to permit rule had left councils powerless to refuse licence applications, even in the face of local opposition.

Last year the government pledged to give councils more powers to block such applications by allowing them to take into account “cumulative impact assessments” looking at the number of betting and gaming shops already in an area.The promise followed Guardian reports of 24-hour slot machine shops taking advantage of favourable planning and licensing laws to open at a rapid rate, clustering in the most economically deprived areas.Signatories of the letter, who include Butler and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, welcomed the commitment to cumulative impact assessments but said the promised measures did not go far enough.“This call for change is not about banning the occasional bet,” they said.“It is about protecting our high streets, supporting vulnerable residents and ensuring that councils have the tools to act in the interests of their communities.

”They urged Starmer to meet a delegation to discuss abolishing the aim to permit rule, a fundamental tenet underpinning British gambling regulation since 2007, when the Gambling Act came fully into force.Previously, companies that wanted to open a betting shop or an adult gaming centre – high street shops sometimes known as “slot sheds” – had to show they were serving demand that was not being met.Butler said she had applied for a 10-minute rule bill, which allows a backbench MP to make their case for new legislation in a short speech that an opponent of the policy can then rebut.Such debates do not result in policy becoming law but are often seen as a gauge of parliament’s likely stance if any such legislation is introduced in future.The letter was signed by 280 people, including 46 MPs, six members of the House of Lords and 216 councillors, as well as campaigners for regulatory reform of gambling.

The campaigners pointed to figures indicating that more than a million people in Britain suffer from a gambling problem and that up to 20% of the population are directly or indirectly harmed by it, including through stretched public services, financial problems and suicide.“We believe the government now has an historic opportunity to put people before profit and to deliver a fairer, safer approach to gambling,” they said.A spokesperson for the Betting & Gaming Council, the industry’s lobby group, said: “Betting shops alone support 46,000 jobs, contribute nearly £1bn a year in direct tax to the Treasury and a further £60m in business rates to local councils.“Crucially, research by ESA Retail shows that 89% of betting shop customers also visit other local businesses when they go to the bookies, providing a welcome boost to high street trade.However, since 2019 the number of betting shops has fallen by 29% – over 2,300 closures in just five years, with the loss of thousands of jobs, and millions in tax revenue.

”A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “We’ve already committed to giving councils unprecedented new powers to limit gambling shops on their high streets and will introduce new assessments to go further so that councils have greater say over the location and number of gambling outlets, particularly in areas vulnerable to harmful gambling.“We are working across government and with councils to halt the decline that people are seeing in their towns and high streets so people feel proud of the area they call home.”
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Kenji Morimoto’s recipe for root vegetable rösti with crisp chickpeas

I’m a sucker for a rösti, and I truly believe it makes the best breakfast, brunch – or any meal, really. This one leans into the amazing varieties of root vegetables we have at our disposal, and it is especially stunning when layered and presented with all of the other elements: a bold mustard aïoli, crisp curried chickpeas, and an easy parsley and red onion salad that is quick-pickled to provide an acidic finish to a satisfying dish.These rösti are easy to customise (although I’d suggest going for a combination of at least two root vegetables); they freeze well, too, making those lazy weekend brunches that much easier.Prep 30 min Cook 30 min Serves 2-4For the chickpeas400g tin chickpeas, drained 2 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp salt 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp smoked paprikaFor the salad80g red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 10g parsley leaves Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of ½ 1 tsp sumac 1 pinch saltFor the mustard aïoli 100g mayonnaise 1 tbsp English mustard Juice of ½ lemonFor the rösti300g root vegetables (such as beetroot, sweet potato, parsnip), peeled and grated80g red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 2 tbsp plain flour 1 egg Neutral oil, for cookingHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Pat the drained chickpeas dry with kitchen towel, then tip them on to the lined sheet

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Adults in England eating as much salt a day as in 22 bags of crisps, study shows

Adults in England eat the same amount of salt every week as is found in 155 bags of crisps, according to analysis by a leading health charity.The British Heart Foundation, which carried out the study, said this also equated to 22 bags a day of ready salted, lightly salted or sea salt crisps.“Most of the salt we eat is hidden in the food we buy, such as bread, cereals, pre-made sauces and ready meals, so it’s hard to know how much salt we’re consuming,” said Dell Stanford, a senior BHF dietitian.“This is bad news for our heart health, as eating too much salt significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and other serious diseases.”It is estimated that eating dangerously high amounts of salt contributes to at least 5,000 deaths a year in the UK from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions

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Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for roast sweet potato, feta and butter bean traybake | Quick and easy

A brilliant, warming 30-minute traybake, all in one tin. I love the combination of roast sweet potatoes with crumbled feta and a bright, fresh pesto; adding butter beans to the mix brings another hit of protein, as well as getting more legumes into your diet – win-win! A jar or tin of chickpeas would work just as well, if that’s what you have in, and feel free to substitute the parsley for other soft herbs, should you wish.Prep 15 min Cook 30 min Serves 22 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed or peeled (up to you) and cut into 1½cm chunks570g jar butter beans (or 400g tin butter beans), drained and rinsed2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp smoked paprika2 tsp flaky sea salt 200g block feta, crumbledFor the spring onion pesto 25g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems3 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped50g almonds, or pine nuts 50ml extra-virgin olive oilJuice of ½ lemonHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Tip the sweet potato chunks, butter beans, olive oil, smoked paprika and a teaspoon of sea salt into a roasting tin or tray large enough to hold everything in almost one layer, mix well, then roast for 30 minutes.Meanwhile, blitz the parsley, spring onions, nuts, olive oil, lemon juice and half a teaspoon of salt in a high-speed blender or chopper

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Overnight oats, spinach pie and cheesy corn muffins: Alexina Anatole’s recipes for make-ahead breakfasts

The saying goes that you should breakfast like a king, and I’ve long found that the key to making that happen during the busy work week is to batch-prepare breakfast at the weekend. As we start a new year, the focus is back on balance, and these dishes offer both nourishment and flavour, while also being ideal for making ahead. The overnight oats are a source of fibre, the muffins are high in protein and the pie is a source of both.Prep 5 minCook 10 minSoak OvernightServes 4120g rolled oats 1 tsp ground cinnamon 4 small pears, 2 grated, 2 to garnishSalt120ml freshly squeezed orange juice (from 3-4 small oranges)2 balls stem ginger, finely chopped, plus 1½ tbsp syrup from the jar 200g greek yoghurt, plus extra to serveSliced pistachios, to serve (optional)In a small bowl, mix the oats, cinnamon, grated pears and a pinch of salt. In a second bowl, stir the orange juice, chopped stem ginger and ginger syrup, then stir this and the yoghurt through the oat mix

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How to make the perfect breakfast tacos – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

Breakfast tacos should not be confused with tacos eaten for breakfast. Of course, they often are eaten for breakfast, but the stuffed flour tortillas eaten on both sides of the southern US border are quite different from the tacos mañaneros of central and southern Mexico, the rich, corn-based tacos de canasta (“tacos in a basket”) or the smoky beef barbacoa that Monterrey-born Lily Ramirez-Foran recalls being her dad’s favourite Sunday breakfast. Instead, Texas Monthly explains, breakfast tacos “marry the key elements of an American morning – scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes – with the Mexican staples of salsa, cheese, refried beans … genius.”Although they’re originally a Mexican creation, according to José R Ralat, the magazine’s taco editor (what a job title!), these $3 treats are now so popular north of the border that they’re the subject of regular taco wars, mostly between those who claim Austin as their spiritual home (often blow-ins, according to their fiercest critics), and those who know that no single city can take the credit. The fillings may vary, from pork chops to chilaquiles and beans to cheese, but Ralat maintains that all should be salty, soft and, above all, comforting, and told the Washington Post a few years ago that “the greatest breakfast taco is the one made at home”

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Poon’s at Somerset House, London WC2: ‘The tofu dip alone is worth booking a table for’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

The cooking is refreshingly light, delicate and, you might even say, wholesomeIf you find yourself ice-skating at Somerset House in central London over the next week or so (and hurry: you’ve got only until 11 January before it closes), then first please accept my commiserations. Second, please also note that the Chinese restaurant Poon’s, by Amy Poon, scion of the Poon’s restaurant dynasty, recently rooted itself in the New Wing.Ice-skating itself I have nothing against, but we can all agree that these slippery yuletide stampedes on temporary rinks are the polar opposite of festive, so surely it would be far better to be hiding indoors in the warmth with a round of prawn wontons, a bowl of nourishing “magic soup”, or some wind-dried meat claypot rice. Plus, when the weather outside is frightful, the decor in Poon’s is utterly delightful. So gorgeous, in fact, that within two minutes of entering this dusky, muted salmon-pink, twinkly peach, womb-like space, I found myself asking for the name and brand of the paint shade, because it felt instinctively one that, if applied to my own walls at home, would solve many existential problems