London mayor orders council to drop plan to ban new pubs and bars in Soho and West End

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered Westminster Council to abandon a proposed ban on new pubs and bars in Soho and the West End. The Guardian reports that Khan is pushing the council toward what he calls "a positive vision of economic growth" for the city's nightlife. The original policy, which remains under consultation, had sought to restrict what it terms "vertical drinking"—customers standing while consuming beverages—and would have required pubs to offer table service instead of bar orders.

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