The council has sought to clarify its position after sections of its Draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 that recommend discouraging ‘excessive drunkenness’ and encouraging more seating in licensed premises were deemed to be anti-business. The policy, which covers Soho and the West End, states that venues should ‘encourage the provision of more seating in premises that serve alcohol for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high-volume vertical drinking.’
The document also states: ‘The introduction of measures to reduce the extent of, or to remove opportunities for, vertical drinking could address the underlying reasons for the policy’.
Writing on social media platform X, Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan criticised the proposals, saying: “You can’t run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset. London’s hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth.”
WCC says that its draft proposals have been misinterpreted and that it is was not looking to ban people from standing in pubs.
“That isn’t what our Draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 says. The draft discusses how seating and table service can help reduce overcrowding, high-volume ‘vertical drinking’ and disorder risks in some venues,” says WCC.
“It’s about responsible venue management – not stopping people from standing up or enjoying our incredible pubs, bars and restaurants.”
WCC also addressed the term at the centre of the debate, defining ‘vertical drinking’ as: ‘A licensing term for large groups standing and drinking in overcrowded venues.’ It adds: “No, Westminster is not banning people from standing in Soho pubs.”
Alongside its clarification, WCC is prompting members of the public to take part in the consultation on the draft policy, directing people to share their views using the link in its Instagram bio. Council leader Paul Swaddle released a statement addressing the controversy, saying: “There is no plan, and never has been, to ban drinking while standing up in a Westminster pub.”
He says recent headlines had caused confusion and stressed that the consultation was intended to gather feedback before any policy is finalised.
“The misleading stories have led to a lot of questions and comments and we welcome those. We will take the time to properly answer people’s questions and set out clearly, in plain English, exactly what this policy does and doesn’t do.
“Let me be clear about what we’re trying to achieve. This is about safety, not stopping anyone standing at a bar with a pint in their hand. We will never allow Westminster to become a city where people can’t go out and enjoy a drink.”