𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Government has been urged to stick to its pledge to ban ticket touting amid concerns the policy will be left out of next month’s King’s Speech.

In November, the Government announced that new rules making it illegal to resell tickets for live events for profit would end the “industrial-scale” touting that has caused misery for millions of fans.

Ministers confirmed plans to make it illegal for tickets to concerts, theatre, comedy, sport and other live events to be resold for more than their original cost.

The Labour manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being scammed or priced out of events by touts, who frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.

The proposed rules make it illegal for tickets to be sold at a price above the face value – defined as the original price plus unavoidable fees including service charges.

Service fees will be capped to prevent the price limit being undermined by platforms, which will have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance, and individuals will be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial sale.

A host of globally renowned artists have backed the plan, including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay.

Following a report in the Guardian that the minister responsible for the policy, Ian Murray, had told music industry groups not to worry if the measure was not part of the King’s Speech on May 13, the Government said it required new primary legislation that it was working to deliver at the earliest opportunity.

A Government spokeswoman said: “Ticket touts are a blight on the live events industry, causing misery for millions of fans.

“We set out decisive plans last year to stamp out touting once and for all, and we are committed to delivering on these for the benefit of fans and industry.”

The music industry and Which? raised concerns about the suggestion of any delay, as sites appeared to show touts selling tickets for the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Sunderland well above the two-ticket limit for buyers and at vastly inflated prices.

Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum, said: “2026 was supposed to mark this Government moving ‘from announcements to action’ but we have little evidence of this to date.

“A ban on ticket touting was one of only two music-related commitments in the Labour manifesto, alongside fixing EU touring.

“These are widely supported, pro-growth measures that will deliver tangible benefits to the British public. However, if ticket resale legislation is not presented in the King’s Speech, it will have the opposite effect and continue to cost those constituents hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

“This Government needs to stand by its promises and get it done.”

Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, said: “The Government has a big decision to make: will they ‘put fans first’ or not?

“Last November, ministers committed to ‘bold new measures’ to ban online ticket touting and support consumers.

“Enacting these measures should be a no-brainer but, if legislation is not presented in the upcoming King’s Speech, the cycle of industrial-scale exploitation will continue.”

Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said: “The Government has promised to put fans first but, if this legislation is not included in the King’s Speech, the only ones celebrating will be the rip-off secondary ticketing websites and online touts.”