Following the Parliamentary motion signed by 18 MPs, expressing surprise and regret that Blackpool had not been chosen as the location for Britain’s first super casino, the Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary for the Liberal Democrats has written to his government counterpart, Tessa Jowell, calling for the expert scrutiny committee that examined the Gambling Bill to be reconvened. Don Foster MP says it would be ‘enormously beneficial’ for the Casino Advisory Panel’s report to be considered before a vote was taken in Parliament.

The Liberal Democrat news site quotes from the letter sent to Tessa Jowell: "The Shadow Cabinet believes that this course of action would enable Members of Parliament, as representatives of the public, the opportunity to discuss the forthcoming Order in a fully informed manner. I hope that you will give this your urgent consideration." In the first report of the Joint Scrutiny Committee, way back in April 2004, it was firmly of the view that resort casinos should be tied to regeneration. The committee at that time appeared to have no reservations on the number of resort casinos that should be licensed.

The choice of Manchester as the site for Britain’s prototype Las Vegas style casino may have surprised most people but the selection is not without merits. Blackpool may have tremendous support and would be a great place to site a resort casino. It is in dire need of regeneration, but it cannot be the logical choice from the point of view of providing the best test of social impact. Manchester is in a position to do this, much in the way that the Dome site in Greenwich could, or even the other contenders in densely populated cities.

When MPs come to vote they should remember what the object of the exercise was in reducing regional casinos to just one. The idea was to see how a new concept in casino gambling impacted on society before considering whether to increase the availability. Worthy though Blackpool is, it cannot compete with Manchester as a litmus test. (E-02.07.07)

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