Labour MP Rupa Huq has secured a House of Commons debate on the regulation of ticket prices for live events, with a focus on concerns around ticket touting and dynamic pricing.
Huq announced that she had been granted an adjournment debate for Wednesday 9 September, giving her the opportunity to press ministers on problems faced by fans trying to buy tickets for concerts, gigs and sporting events.
Writing on X, the Ealing Central and Acton MP said:
“I’ve been granted a debate on Weds night… on the ticketing rip offs that covers live gigs and sporting events.”
She also invited members of the public to contact her with their own experiences of touting and dynamic pricing, saying she would try to include examples in the debate.
The issue has attracted growing concern in recent years as fans have faced rapidly changing prices, inflated resale costs and difficulties securing tickets at their original face value. Existing consumer protections already cover parts of the primary and secondary ticketing market, but MPs and campaigners have argued they do not go far enough.
Dynamic pricing can result in ticket prices rising significantly in response to demand, while secondary ticketing platforms have also faced criticism where tickets are resold at substantial mark-ups.
Huq’s debate will give MPs a chance to examine whether existing consumer protections are strong enough and whether further regulation is needed to ensure greater transparency and fairness in the ticketing market. The Government has said it will publish a draft bill in this parliamentary session to cap the resale of live events tickets above face value.
The debate is listed under the title “Regulation of ticket prices for live events” and will take place in the Commons on Wednesday evening.
For Huq, who has previously tabled legislation on ticket-price transparency, the issue is ultimately about ensuring that ordinary fans are not priced out of major cultural and sporting events.
Her call for people to share their experiences ahead of the debate also gives constituents and consumers an opportunity to feed directly into the parliamentary discussion.
The intervention is likely to add further pressure for action on touting, resale practices and dynamic pricing as Labour MPs continue to push for stronger protections for consumers.
