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Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill

We had a long debate about that, and 10% was deemed to be sufficiently small that there would be no profit. The people we are talking about buy huge numbers of tickets, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman can work out that the bigger the percentage, the more lucrative it is for the number of tickets they buy up. Keeping the percentage small restricts the amount of extra money they can make on top and so removes the incentive for touts to participate in that activity. I must return to the substance of my speech, if hon. Members will allow me. The Bill also has wide-ranging support from the live entertainment industry. The hon. Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) and I met several people involved in the business last night. In particular, I spoke to Ron Smallwood—the manger of Iron Maiden, no less—who has been trying to push the matter up the agenda for many years. He said:"““When Iron Maiden tickets went on sale late last year for an extensive arena tour of the UK this coming summer, thousands upon thousands of tickets at much higher average price than face value appeared across these secondary sites within days… Do they really expect us to believe that even a small number of these were bought by people who suddenly—the day after they bought the ticket—found they couldn't go to a concert some 9 months away?... This is one story of many…it is sheer piracy and must be stopped to protect the real fans and the performers.””" Last night I also met the manager of the Arctic Monkeys, Ian McAndrew—