London's mayor Sadiq Khan has exercised newly granted powers to intervene in Westminster council's licensing policy, requiring the council to scrap its plan to prevent new bars and pubs from opening in Soho and the West End. The controversial draft policy would have imposed standing-consumption bans ('vertical drinking'), mandatory table service, strict closing times, and designated the entertainment districts as 'cumulative impact zones' where new venues could open only in exceptional circumstances. The policy sparked significant opposition after public disclosure of its restrictions.

Khan argues that the council's framework has effectively discouraged licensed venues, citing data showing declining license applications and low approval rates in these areas. He is pushing Westminster to abandon the cumulative impact zones and core hours policies in favour of what he describes as a 'positive vision of economic growth' for nightlife, citing Manchester as a model of more permissive licensing. This represents Khan's first use of recently delegated mayoral powers to override local licensing decisions.