The Royal Albert Hall’s three-year bid to change its constitution through legislation in parliament has failed, potentially costing the charity £1.8m.
On Monday, a motion to revive the charity’s bill, first tabled in 2022, was voted down by MPs following a debate which renewed concerns about its members selling seats at the venue for large sums.
Conservative MP John Whittingdale supported the revival of the private member’s bill, on which the government took a neutral stance, but the 37 votes against outnumbered the 24 in favour.
The vote came after Labour MP Emily Thornberry criticised the bill for failing to address the issue of Royal Albert Hall trustees, 18 of whom are seat-holders, selling their tickets to some events for a profit.
Under its constitution, around a quarter of the charity’s 5,500 seats are privately owned by its members, meaning they are able to attend certain performances themselves or sell their tickets.
Seat-holders pay an annual contribution of £2,250 and agree to forgo their tickets for events held at the venue on just over 100 days each year, meaning the charity is free to sell its full capacity on those occasions.
However, the forgoing of tickets is not mandated by the charity’s constitution and a minority of seat-holders have threatened legal action in response to the majority who vote for all members to give up their tickets each year.
The charity sought to amend its constitution through the bill to address this issue, warning that it may have to reduce the number of full-capacity performances it can offer if the bill failed.
Concerns were repeatedly voiced throughout the bill’s passage through parliament that it did not address the fundamental issue of trustees being able to sell tickets to many shows privately, with reports that some have been listed for thousands of pounds.
Thornberry said yesterday: “I appreciate that that may be uncomfortable for some people, but I do not see why members of this house should spend their time promoting legislation that simply looks after the interests of a small number of people who already make a great deal of money out of owning seats in the Royal Albert Hall.
“It seems to me that we should be demanding that the Royal Albert Hall change its governance processes, stop the way in which it sells tickets, and get on and deal with itself in a way that is 21st century and not anything else.”
The Royal Albert Hall recorded a total income of £60.5m, £41.2m of which came from its operation of the venue, and expenditure of £47m in 2024.
Civil Society has contacted the Royal Albert Hall charity for comment.
