Sunday, June 14, 2015
New MPs down £11,000 of drinks in first week
Those, like me, critical of the subsidies available to MPs in the various bars around the Palace of Westminister, will not be surprised at this article in the Sunday Times, which reveals that jubilant Tories, triumphant Scottish nationalists and despondent Labour
politicians helped to consume more than £11,000 of alcohol during the first
week back at Westminster after the general election.
The paper says that dozens of bottles of champagne and prosecco, scores of bottles of wine and hundreds of pints of beer were consumed in the Strangers’ Bar and on the adjoining terrace over a five-day period with £4,300 being spent on alcohol on Monday, May 11, alone:
.
With the Commons not sitting as new MPs found offices, some received ministerial jobs and others analysed the election result, politicians, senior parliamentary officials and their guests spent £1,538.05 on sauvignon blanc, £1,229.70 on Grolsch lager, £1,036.45 on guest ale, and £875.50 on champagne.
According to figures released under freedom of information rules, staff also served a single Campari, priced at £2.70, one Baileys, at £3, and one glass of port, also priced at £3. A jug of water was served free.
Alcohol sold in the Commons bars is cheaper than in most of the pubs and bars nearby.
Nice work if you can get it but hardly setting an example for the rest of the country.
The paper says that dozens of bottles of champagne and prosecco, scores of bottles of wine and hundreds of pints of beer were consumed in the Strangers’ Bar and on the adjoining terrace over a five-day period with £4,300 being spent on alcohol on Monday, May 11, alone:
.
With the Commons not sitting as new MPs found offices, some received ministerial jobs and others analysed the election result, politicians, senior parliamentary officials and their guests spent £1,538.05 on sauvignon blanc, £1,229.70 on Grolsch lager, £1,036.45 on guest ale, and £875.50 on champagne.
According to figures released under freedom of information rules, staff also served a single Campari, priced at £2.70, one Baileys, at £3, and one glass of port, also priced at £3. A jug of water was served free.
Alcohol sold in the Commons bars is cheaper than in most of the pubs and bars nearby.
Nice work if you can get it but hardly setting an example for the rest of the country.
