In a fine example of local democracy in action, Hackney Council have ignored the results of their own consultation on their 'nil policy adult entertainment policy' and done exactly what they planned all along.

The 'nil policy' would mean that no licenses would be granted to strip clubs, sex shops or sex cinema in the borough, which currently houses some of the oldest strip venues in the UK. Worse, the council planned to refuse any license renewals for existing venues.

This plan was put out to consultation with the local population. Unfortunately for the council, the results were not what they wanted. 66% opposed the ban 66% on sex cinemas and strip clubs, and 75% opposed the ban on sex shops. The people who actually lived near the venues were even more opposed to the ban. The plans were also attacked by the strippers themselves, the TUC and even the local vicar.

Pauline Bristow, licensee of The White Horse (dancer pictured) commented to The Hackney Citizen: “We felt that doing the survey might have promoted the voice of people who are against gentleman’s venues and encouraged them to say ‘we don’t want them here’. I think the wording of the policy is very, very wrong, to call us sex establishments implies that sex is going on behind our doors. It should be exotic dancing venues, it is very misleading."

Not that this was going to make much difference. The council - dominated by anti-porn feminists and under the influence of extremist organisations like The Fawcett Society and Object (who want a ban on everything from beauty pageants and Page 3 Girls up) pushed through their proposal anyway on January 12th, with the one concession that existing venues will be allowed to stay open if "they can demonstrate that their premises is longstanding, well-run, and does not generate significant levels of concern among the community and/or statutory authorities." A nicely vague set of rules that could be easily manipulated to pick off venues one by one - and once a licence is refused, there is no appeal.

Predictably, other boroughs in London (not to mention elsewhere in the country) are doing likewise - Hammersmith & Fulham have already adopted a Nil policy with Islington expected to follow suit, despite there being no evidence of harm caused by any of these venues - quite the opposite in fact. Which was no doubt the plan all along when Labour - egged on by the usual suspects - changed the law last year to allow venues to be outlawed for arbitrary moral reasons .