London’s night czar, Amy Lamé, marked her last day at City Hall on Thursday amidst an ongoing mystery over whether she will be replaced by anyone in the role.
It was announced earlier this month that Ms Lamé would be stepping down, but she had remained officially in post until Thursday, October 31.
Appointed by mayor Sadiq Khan soon after his election in 2016, she had been tasked with serving as “a much-needed ambassador for the city after dark” and to “capitalise on the growth of London’s night time economy, as well as looking at ways to create a safer, more responsible nightlife for the city’s residents”.
But despite Mr Khan’s insistence that the czar had “worked hard to help London’s nightlife through huge challenges, including the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis”, Ms Lamé came repeatedly under fire from critics who said she was failing to stem the closure of nightlife venues across the capital.
Questions had also been raised about the size of her salary, which rose this year to £132,846, and whether she had enough powers to make a difference, particularly given that licensing decisions remain in the hands of borough councils.
On the day of Ms Lamé’s departure, City Hall said it had no further update to give on whether a new night czar will be appointed.
When her resignation was announced four weeks ago, the mayor’s office said that a ‘London Nightlife Taskforce’ would first seek to investigate problems with the capital’s night economy before a decision is taken over the future of the role.
The taskforce was promised in Mr Khan’s recent re-election manifesto, with a mission to “examine and address the issues facing our city’s night-time hospitality and culture”. Its work will be complemented by “a new London Nightlife Fund”.
But a spokesman for the mayor declined to provide any detail on Thursday as to when the taskforce is expected to be in place - let alone finished with its investigation.
He said: “The mayor is committed to supporting the capital’s life at night, and work continues at City Hall to support all aspects of life between 6pm and 6am.
“That includes the forthcoming creation of a new London Nightlife Taskforce that will examine and address the issues facing the industries. Any decisions on the night czar role will be taken once they have completed their work.”
In the meantime, it is understood that Ms Lamé’s duties have been given to two of Mr Khan’s deputy mayors - his deputy for business, Howard Dawber, and his deputy for culture, Justine Simons OBE.
City Hall Conservatives have argued that Ms Lamé should be replaced by a “voluntary industry expert”, following the model used by Labour mayor Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, where Sacha Lord serves as an unpaid Night Time Economy Adviser.
The recommendation was contained in a report on how to protect and improve the capital’s nightlife, authored by Emma Best, the Tories’ deputy leader on the London Assembly.
She told the Standard that Ms Lamé “is leaving with a record of London nightlife collapsing and venues closing at a rate unseen elsewhere in the country”.
She added: “I, once again, am asking the Mayor of London, and Lamé's successor if there will be one, to read my report and engage with the recommendations to help get nightlife moving again in London. Engage with stakeholders, listen to venue owners, and get Londoners out in the evening again.”
The mayor’s office said earlier this month that the night czar had “supported hundreds of venues since 2016” and was “instrumental in reopening Fabric, protecting the 100 Club, securing the future of Printworks, securing the reopening of the Black Cap after 10 years of closure, and enabling Drumsheds to open, amongst others”.
Ms Lamé said upon the news of her resignation that she was “deeply proud of what has been achieved in the face of so many challenges”, highlighting her work to improve women’s safety and in getting boroughs to develop their own night time strategies.
