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Lords scupper super-casino plan | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Peers have rejected a decision to build the UK's first super-casino in Manchester by just three votes. | |
It means the plans will not be implemented, even though MPs backed the proposal by a majority of 24. | It means the plans will not be implemented, even though MPs backed the proposal by a majority of 24. |
The Lords vote also means that plans for 16 smaller casinos around the UK will have to be shelved. | The Lords vote also means that plans for 16 smaller casinos around the UK will have to be shelved. |
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said that, after the defeat, she wanted "to reflect on the outcome" and promised new proposals. | |
'Stand-off' | |
Peers rejected the order backing Manchester by 123 votes to 120, while MPs supported it by 274 to 250. | |
It is thought likely the government will say the verdict of the Commons - the elected house of Parliament - should rate above that of the Lords. | |
This could lead to a stand-off, with ministers sticking to the original plans. | |
Manchester was picked earlier this year by an independent panel ahead of the front-runners Blackpool and the former Millennium Dome in London. | |
Some critics argued that Blackpool was a more suitable venue, with greater need for a super-casino. | |
But supporters of the Manchester bid said the chosen area in the east of the city was in need of the investment and renewal the project would bring. | |
The Lords vote means the plans will have to be re-drafted and plans for eight more "large" casinos and a further eight "small" ones, in addition to Manchester, are thrown out. | |
Earlier, Ms Jowell tried to head off a backbench rebellion by accepting an amendment tabled by Labour peer Baroness Golding, setting up a new joint committee of MPs and peers to look at the lessons to be learnt from the casino selection process. | |
Large casinos had been due to be built in Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton | |
The sites chosen for smaller venues were: Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton. |