You’ll no doubt have caught some of the breathless commentary in recent days, reacting to reports of a planned ‘ban’ on ‘vertical drinking’ by Westminster Council.

What was quickly revealed to be a rather traditional Silly Season newspaper conflation crashed headlong into today’s attention-hungry, instant outrage machine, with predictable agenda-shoehorning gusto from all concerned.

Of course, this ‘news’ - which essentially references existing licensing policies of over 20 years standing - comes hot on the heels of residents’ group The Soho Society being roundly pilloried as ‘killjoys’, NIMBYs’ and ‘curtain-twitchers’ for their ridiculous opposition to any growth in the late night economy in what was once London’s cultural epicentre.

Sensing the obvious social media gold, and keen to keep that storyline developing, everyone from indignant influencers right up to the Mayor, and to a certain extent the new PM (who we know from earlier in the year loves to show off his nightlife-loving DJing man-of-the-people persona) duly waded right in.

Next, Council leaders chirped up with a series of overly-defensive (if true) statements, that a ‘ban’ on drinking without sitting down in/outside pubs had never been proposed, and the Guardian in turn had to tone down their original soaraway headline to read ‘limit standing’ instead.

As a staunch supporter of all things hospitality and nightlife, I could easily have joined the fray with some glee, however, generating ragebait, confecting conflict and then driving it all forwards for the metrics is exhausting, vacuous stuff, and I’d much rather dig in to the nuance of a story, which is where the interesting bits always reside, anyway.

So I reached out to Jackie Clode-Dickens, who heads up hospitality consultancy DVO, sits on the Board of the Soho Business Alliance, and I’ve known for a very long time since her days managing all things marketing at Camden Market.

“The irony of the past week's coverage is that many of the journalists and commentators driving the debate know full well that this isn't a new Westminster City Council policy,” she says, right off the bat.

“Restrictions around so-called ‘vertical drinking’ have formed part of Westminster's licensing approach for decades. No one is suddenly proposing to ban people from standing in a pub with a pint – despite what some of the headlines might suggest.

“The real story sits beneath the clickbait. Our concern is Westminster's wider approach to licensing and its lack of ambition to support hospitality businesses to invest, innovate and grow. Licensing is one of the biggest factors affecting whether businesses can succeed, particularly in Soho.

“Headlines suggesting that Westminster is ‘banning pints’ are obviously unhelpful and don't reflect the reality. But if they succeed in drawing attention to the wider challenges facing bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants and music venues, then at least some good can come from all the noise. We welcome the spotlight on the challenges facing our members, but what the industry needs is measured, evidence-based discussion and genuine collaboration between businesses, residents and the Council. We'll get much further by working together than by talking past one another.”

The uncompromising extremes of a handful of highly vocal, yet silence-loving, (yet Soho living), residents aside, it feels to me like everyone jousting over this topic is largely already fighting for the same thing.

Of course the Council want to promote ‘safer’ West End drinking, and have an obligation to stop roads getting swamped with vast wobbly post-work crowds (however fun all that is), and of course Sadiq and the various lobbying organisations are fighting to support successful, growing businesses and a thriving 24-hour cultural scene in the centre of the capital.

Therefore it’s a bit of a distraction to all be spending time and energy up in arms over some fantasy return to Covid-era table service and banned interacting at the bar (memories of that performative anti-social/anti-business circus also loom very large in this debate).

There’s plenty of more important, if less viral, stuff desperately needing that degree of attention. And Jackie is right; issues can only ever get resolved by working together. Westminster slapping ever-increasing regulation on operators doesn’t magic away the problems, but it certainly does create plenty more.

Draconian things like blanket curfews, limitations on outdoor trading, table service requirements reducing capacity other creeping pressures have pushed many hospitality businesses to breaking point, especially in Soho.

“Businesses here are already constrained by historic buildings, narrow streets and an outdated public realm,” says Jackie. “Add all these restrictive licensing conditions and you're effectively capping businesses' ability to increase capacity, generate revenue and reinvest.

“We've reached a point where these businesses are increasingly expected to fill gaps left by underfunded public services. Hospitality operators are already investing heavily in security, welfare, first aid, street management, cleaning and crowd control—responsibilities that aren't expected of most other sectors. I've even heard suggestions that businesses should contribute towards funding the Night Tube. At some point, we have to ask whether that expectation has become unreasonable.”

In their robust pursuit of improving some of the darker sides of Soho’s longstanding afterhours infamy, Westminster Council seem to have slowly, and now very rapidly, lost control of their own narrative.

Despite the latest uproar not being rooted in too much truth, it’s now going to take years shake off the belief that those entrusted with this beloved best bit of the West End are entirely responsible for ruining it. That’s a shame, as clearly the issues are multiple and complex. They shouldn’t ever fit into a single angry tweet.

Jackie blames a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to licensing across the Borough, that inevitably struggles to meet Soho’s needs when bundled in with the likes of Marylebone and St Johns Wood.

She also challenges the ‘accepted wisdom’ that underpins many of the most fraught debates, “the assumption that more licensed premises automatically lead to more crime, when the evidence tells a very different story.”

Often, in an attempt to reflect the apparent wishes of their constituents, I see councillors all over London revert to the most basic of knee-jerk headline fodder for guidance. That logic seems to have it that a little clandestine pissing in a doorway requires the shuttering of a popular and historic music venue, or the ‘disturbance’ of knives and forks chinking on plates plus occasional bursts of laughter require that outdoor tables must out of bounds after 9pm, (on nights at hot as these, for goodness sake).

It’s ludicrous to entrust licensing decisions to people who may often have quite literally zero experience of the afterhours economy and its unique safety and regulatory needs, and yet we do it time and again.

Now that the nation fully believes that Westminster Council and The Soho Society are hellbent on seeing a flat, cultureless West End, where mindless consumers are compelled to sit down for pre-9pm drinks, not interact with strangers, and then toddle off to bed without any hint of revelry or street-based bonhomie, it’s surely, urgently, time to break bread with the pros and concoct some more suitable, 21st century policies.

Down under, Sydney’s infamously overzealous ‘lockout laws’ effectively decimated that city’s nightlife, yet the shocking economic and cultural loss proved a wake-up call that is now yielding a world-leading turnaround in approach.

It shouldn’t have to take that degree of failure to reinvigorate Soho for a new era, but it will definitely take more than attention-grabbing posturing and ever more regulatory squeeze.

It’s high time for everyone concerned to sit down and work together more - before standing up, going outside and sharing a pint, of course.

POP-UP: 🎧 Back in 1989, I can remember having Cutmaster Swift’s DMC World Championship-winning mix on heavy Walkman rotation (check it out above, as it’s still mind-bending), and remember the transitions and scratches like it was yesterday. And this Sun 16th Aug, the great man is performing at Stables Market Amphitheatre at a free event to mark the official Launch Party for the DMC41 competition. He’ll be alongside UK legend DJ Pogo, and host MysDiggi, with free entry all afternoon. Then look out for the World Finals at KOKO, 12th-14th Nov.

ICE CREAM:🍧Primrose Hill’s super-stylish Arvo Cafe have opened up a brand new Gelato by Arvo spot right across Regent’s Park Rd from their popular cafe. You can imagine what it specialises in, and there’s really no better time of year to have launched to draw in the strip’s hungry brunch, pub and park crowds.

DRINK: 🍸Bloomsbury’s Imperial Hotel has had a massive revamp, which include the attractive rooftop, which opens today as Arcus. Expect brunches and small plates, following by cocktails into the night.

FRINGE HIGHLIGHT: 🎭 Musings of a Serial Dieter sees Alison (see the Community section above) take you down the rabbit hole of endless dieting attempts and enduring the purgatory of never being content with the results. She’ll making her way through key Fringe venues, starting at the Courtyard Theatre on Tues 18th Aug, then at the Etcetera Theatre Wed 26th Aug and finally at the Hen & Chickens Theatre 28th-30th Aug, exploring food confusion, stirring in a mixed medium of music and mayhem, then serving it all with a fat dollop of humour.

MUSIC: 🔊 It’s Back II Life Café time again later this afternoon with the inimitable David Rodigan joining Jazzie B at the tent for a locals dubplate hoedown in the Hawley Wharf square.

COMEDY: 🎤 Catch the Roundhouse Comedy Festival in full swing this Sat 15th Aug with Sara Pascoe & Friends, who include the all-star stand-up gang of Nina Conti, John Kearns, Harriet Kemsley and Michael Odewale.

MUSIC: 🎶I was out in the sweltering tropical setting of Coal Drops Yard last night for the opening of King’s Cross’ popular annual Summer Sounds free open-air festival fortnight. Secret headliners The Molotovs smashed out their punky staples alongside assorted Bowie tributes, which gave a nod to the ongoing show about the pop icon, David Bowie: You’re Not Alone that’s running at Lightroom, just up the stairs. Over the coming days, expect everything from jazz ensembles to Afro-Contemporary dance, queer beatboxers, choirs and Middle Eastern melody as the area’s big hitting institutions contribute music on the free central stage and a few satellite show venues too, day and night. Runs to Sun 23rd Aug. Check my footage later on Insta @camdenist.