Pledge
“Access to music, drama and sport has become difficult and expensive because of ticket touting. Labour will put fans back at the heart of events by introducing new consumer protections on ticket resales.”
Our verdict
A consultation ran between January and April 2025, although its results are not yet public and it’s not yet known when new consumer protections will be introduced.
Tickets for live events, such as concerts, festivals or sports matches, can be sold by their original buyers in what’s known as the ‘secondary’ market. These tickets are referred to as ‘resale’ tickets.
Resale tickets are often sold for more than their original price. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that in 2019 “most tickets” sold through two major resale websites “had a mark-up over their face-value of more than 50%”. (Face-value refers to the prices set by event organisers.)
Ticket resales are already regulated in UK law through a combination of consumer protection law and legislation that targets the secondary market.
For example, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires resellers or secondary platforms to provide specific information about the ticket, including its face-value price and any restrictions to its use.
The Digital Economy Act 2017 banned the use of automated software (or ‘bots’) to purchase more tickets than the maximum number set by the event organiser, and requires resellers to provide unique ticket numbers to help buyers identify if a ticket is seated or standing, and its location.
Though Labour’s June 2024 manifesto didn’t detail what specific consumer protections the party would introduce, in March 2024 Sir Keir Starmer said a Labour government would “cap resale prices so fans can see the acts that they love at a fair price”.
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We’re rating this pledge as “in progress”. Although the government is yet to introduce new legislation or new consumer protections for ticket resales, it has undertaken a consultation on its proposals to do so.
A government consultation on the resale of live events tickets was announced on 10 January 2025, and ran until 4 April 2025. The government said the consultation and its call for evidence would help it meet its manifesto commitment.
Measures it consulted on included introducing price caps for resale tickets and creating new legal obligations so ticket resale websites and apps are held responsible by Trading Standards and the CMA for “the accuracy of information they provide to fans”.
It also looked at whether Trading Standards should be able to increase the amount resale platforms can be fined (the current cap is £5,000).
It’s not yet known when changes to ticket resales will be introduced, and the government has not confirmed the exact date when the consultation findings will be published.
As we develop this Government Tracker we’re keen to hear your feedback. We’ll be keeping the Tracker up to date and adding more pledges in the coming months.
Progress displayed publicly—so every single person in this country can judge our performance on actions, not words.
Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister – 24 September 2024
