A top Tory has blasted plans to stop online touts ripping off music fans - saying a resale ticket cap is a "silly idea". Lord David Frost said rocketing prices of Taylor Swift tickets are "nothing to do with the Government". The former Brexit negotiator said Conservatives should support "economic freedom" rather than stepping in to prevent online scalpng.
The Government is consulting on ways to crack down on organised touts who resell tickets at vastly inflated prices. Among the ideas being considered is a cap of 30% above a ticket's face value. Ministers also want to look at dynamic pricing, which saw the cost of Oasis tickets soar for bemused music lovers last year. MPs previously heard three tickets for a Taylor Swift show last year summer up for £72,000 on a resale site.
Lord Frost told peers: "I am going to break the cosy consensus here. The Conservative Party always used to be, and perhaps still is, the party of markets and economic freedom, so I am going to say what I think a lot of Conservatives might still think, which is, I am afraid, that this is a silly idea and the price of a sporting event or a Taylor Swift concert is nothing to do with the Government and can safely be left to the market.
"Does the minister agree - I suspect she does not, but I will ask her anyway - that the best way of avoiding the problems we have been discussing is to deregulate, legitimise secondary markets and allow individuals who want to participate in cultural events to decide how much they want to pay for them and get access to them accordingly?".
