Amy Lamé wants us all to have a night out

DESPERATE communiqué of the week arrives from Sadiq Khan’s night czar Amy Lamé who tries to find a hook in the clocks going back to urge people to enjoy a night out.

It’s all with good intentions of course, as Ms Lamé worries that bars, clubs, music venues and all the rest have yet to fully recover from the coronavirus lockdowns, and are now at risk of going out of business if we don’t use them.

London has indeed lost too many of the places where we saw our first gig or tasted our first sour, the scene of nights out as teenagers and then again, slightly less raucously for most of us, as adults.

We should have much sympathy with the owners of these nightspots who have helped map out the good times for us, but have now been left with vacant bar stools, particularly in midweek. Some of them in Westminster are ghostly quiet. “As the clocks change this weekend I encourage Londoners and visitors to the capital to enjoy that extra hour and make the most of our longer winter nights,” said Ms Lamé this week.

But it all smacked of some press office bods trying to find a new way of saying the same thing and clutching at straws as they try to drum up some badly needed business for the industry.

I mean I don’t know about you but Harrington has always seen the changing of the clocks as the perfect excuse to party hard at Manhattan Lights into the early hours.

Trouble is, as much as Ms Lamé may implore us to go out and as much as we all very much want to go out on Saturday night, or any other night for that matter, the venues are not the only ones with empty pockets.

Amy, we hate to break it to you, but we’re all broke.

With some bars in central London charging close to a tenner for a pint, no wonder a night in with a couple of tins seems more likely.

This is a city full of excitement, as the night czar says, but it’s quickly becoming the preserve of those lucky enough to be on an uncommonly high wage.

For many, the clocks going back is a terrifying moment, as it signals longer, colder nights and the cost of winter.

So – and fun sponges we may be – the only way most people will be able to afford to support their favourite venues on a regular basis right now is for someone to get a proper grip on bills and the cost-of-living, which means a fair price for the basics and essentials: food, energy and travel.

That could start with politicians finding a way to make the private gas and electricity companies demand less from us while their profits are booming. Just a thought.

Maybe after that we could afford a gig ticket – or even a lager.