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Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has resigned due to "delays" in cracking down on maximum bids for fixed odds betting machines.
Chancellor Philip Hammond said in Monday's budget that the reduction from £ 100 to £ 2 would come into effect in October 2019.
Ms. Crouch stated that he had postponed the date in an "unjustifiable" manner and that it could be costly for the lives of problem gamblers.
She tweeted, "Politicians come and go, but principles stay with us forever."
Rumors about Ms. Crouch's resignation began after she failed to appear earlier in the House of Commons to answer an urgent question about the timing of the policy.
But his boss, Secretary of Culture Jeremy Wright, refused to say whether she had resigned after being dismissed by deputy Labor leader Tom Watson.
After confirming Ms. Crouch's resignation, Watson praised her "courageous and principled decision" and said Mr. Wright "should be ashamed" to prioritize "business interests at the expense of the victims , for the benefit of public health and the greed of the good ".
Who is Tracey Crouch?
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- The 43-year-old MP represents Chatham and Aylesford in Kent since 2010.
- She was promoted to Minister of Sports in 2015
- She is known for her opposition to fox hunting and her love of football – she is a qualified coach of the FA.
- High School graduate of the Folkestone School for Girls, she graduated with a degree in law and politics from the University of Hull.
- Before running for office, she worked for several Conservative MPs, including Michael Howard and David Davis.
- She had her first child in 2016 and would be the Conservative Prime Minister taking maternity leave.
In his budget on Monday, the Chancellor said that the change in fixed-odds bids would come into effect next October, along with the change in the rights of gaming companies based abroad but operating in the United Kingdom.
Wright said coordinating the timing of the two changes would mean the government would not be affected by lower tax revenues.
Activists noted that Ms Crouch had told a multiparty parliamentary group in September that implementation would take place "in the fiscal year beginning in April 2019".
Mr. Watson told the House of Commons: "Everyone on both sides of the house has been led to believe that the reduction will take place in April 2019."
He added that this delay would allow the Treasury to save £ 900 million and accused the government of "capitulating to the gambling industry".
MPs from all sides of the House have joined his critics.
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Later, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith spoke about the plan in the Commons when Chief Treasury Secretary Liz Truss closed the budget debate.
He said that there was a "problem with the start date" and that it should be discussed as part of the finance bill later this month.
Ms Truss said: "We have moved the date for the [fixed-odds betting machines] by six months.
"I do not think it's a problem for the finance bill, but I'm certainly happy to discuss with my honorable friend what we can do more."
- The coming week in Parliament: the finance bill
BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said the government was waiting for a turnaround, but after Truss addressed the House of Commons, "you heard some MPs whisper that this was not enough. ".
The Labor Party has announced to the BBC that it will introduce an amendment to the finance bill to make the changes next April.
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