A chance to protect sports and music fans against ticket touts has been lost after Cambridge Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert last night backed the Government in voting down a cross-party attempt to strengthen the law.

Parliament voted on proposals to tackle ticket touting as part of the Consumer Rights Bill. A cross-party group of Lords and MPs had made proposals on this issue which Labour supported, but Lib Dem MPs joined Conservatives to vote it down.

Daniel Zeichner says that with massive ticket demand ahead of Cambridge’s big game with Manchester United, the issue is very topical, and regrets the missed opportunity to stop fans being ripped-off:

“We all resent not being able to get tickets to see our favourite team or performers, and then having to pay extortionate prices for them on secondary ticketing sites if we still want to go to a gig or a game. MPs across parliament support this measure, as do major sports bodies, cultural institutes and music industry representatives. That’s why it is so disappointing that Liberal Democrats joined fundamentalist free-market Tories in opposing this. I doubt this problem will go away, and I will certainly be continuing the campaign to put fans first and kick touting into touch.”