Councillors vote against banning strip clubs in Bristol

Emotional pleas were heard on both sides as the long-running debate over the future of strip clubs in Bristol came to a head.

Some campaigners argued the existence of sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) in the city perpetuate harmful attitudes towards women, obstruct equality and “give the green light to institutionalised sexism”.

But members of Bristol City Council’s licensing committee ultimately decided that it is better to regulate SEVs than impose a ban and potentially drive activities underground, putting those who work in strip clubs at greater risk.

The decision came as a huge relief to the dancers who stood to lose their jobs if the nil-cap on strip clubs was imposed and follows a year of uncertainty over their future.

https://twitter.com/afrenchstripper/status/1552637868727828481

Speaking from the public gallery at City Hall on Thursday, Amelie, who has worked at one of Bristol’s two strip clubs, Urban Tiger, for three years said the closure of SEVs would “push her back into poverty, precarious and underpaid work”.

“Or, I will most likely keep on dancing in Bristol, but in riskier spaces where there will be no security staff and no CCTV,” she told the chamber.

Amelie added: “I find it particularly cruel to push a workforce that is predominantly female into poverty and financial precarity.”

Another speaker said that, as a disabled person, being able to work in strip clubs has been “life changing” and their only means of being financially independent.

“Removing our work spaces would not remove our need for the industry, it would just further limit our options in a world that is already limited to us,” concluded the speaker.

On the other side of the public gallery, others spoke of the harm caused by strip clubs.

Penny Gane, the chair of Bristol Women’s Commission told councillors they had the chance to implement “a progressive local policy that furthers women’s rights, moves us closer towards achieving women’s equality and could pave the way for more councils to follow suit”.

“Despite how it’s been framed by the sex industry, this is not about workers’ rights but women’s rights. Adopting a nil-cap approach is not anti-worker, but anti-sexism,” concluded Gane.

Safe and Equal Bristol, an umbrella group of stakeholders and professionals in the field of gender equality and sexual & gender-based violence, said in a statement that “a city that licenses strip clubs is, by definition, a city that licenses sexism”.

Public statements ran into some 100 pages and many turned out to speak ahead of the final decision on an issue that has garnered strong feelings on both sides.

Central Chambers on St Stephen’s Street is one of only two strip clubs in Bristol – photo: Martin Booth

Opening the debate, chair of the licensing committee Marley Bennett acknowledged the difficulty of the issue saying it will continue to cause him sleepless nights.

“I think we should retain the numbers and that’s not a decision I’ve come to lightly,” he told the meeting.

Bennett went on to outline the level of regulation imposed on the existing strip clubs, Central Chambers and Urban Tiger, as well as what the city’s director of public health said was a lack of “explicit direct correlation between SEVS and sexual assault and crime and disorder.”

“There’s a really crucial point about the activity that goes on in these regulated venues being driven underground,” added the Labour councillor for Eastville.

A public consultation that received more than 6,000 responses – the majority of which were from women – saw 86 per cent oppose the closure of Bristol’s strip clubs.

Although Bennett said the 16 per cent of women who said the presence of strip clubs made them feel less safe would “weigh on his mind”.

Councillors were asked to decide between retaining the existing cap on strip clubs – two in the city centre and one in Old Market, where there aren’t currently any – or imposing a nil cap.

Adding her support for the former, Sarah Classick, a Lib Dem councillor for Hengrove & Whitchurch Park, said: “I don’t think it’s for the licensing committee to make a moral judgement of whether lap dancing is right or wrong – that’s not within our scope – it’s a legal activity, do we want to push it underground or do we want to keep it where we can see it?”

Guy Poultney,  a Green councillor for Cotham, said: “Some of the voices we’ve heard calling for a nil cap are sometimes advancing arguments that we should discount views of some women in order to empower them. That we should take away their jobs for their own good.

“There seem to be some voices in this debate asserting that some women cannot make choices for themselves.”

Emma Edwards, a Green councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down, acknowledged that everyone wants to curb violence against women and girls but questioned whether closing two strip clubs would have a positive effect on what is “a global issue with many factors”.

In the final vote, it was only Philippa Hulme, a Labour councillor for Horfield, who backed a ban on strip clubs.

“My duty as a city councillor is not to the relatively small number of people who work in these venues but to the city as a whole,” she told the meeting.

“There are pages of evidence that show a link between the objectification of women and violence against women and girls,” continued Hulme, adding: “Just because the venues are well run for the women in there, it doesn’t mean there is no harm to others.”

The final vote was met with cheers, tears of relief and jubilation from the dancers who stood to lose their livelihoods if the clubs closed and disappointment and frustration from those who campaigned against SEVs.

Members of the committee voted ten to one to retain the existing policy, with only Hulme in favour of a nil cap.

Main photo: Ellie Pipe

Read more: 86% oppose closure of Bristol’s strip clubs 

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