{"id":722445,"date":"2026-08-01T08:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/722445\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T08:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:25:08","slug":"mps-have-had-their-stomachs-pumped-concerns-over-alcohol-soaked-culture-in-westminster-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/722445\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018MPs have had their stomachs pumped\u2019: concerns over \u2018alcohol-soaked\u2019 culture in Westminster | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parliament is \u201cBritain\u2019s last alcohol-soaked workplace\u201d where MPs are offered free drinks as early as midday despite alcohol-related scandals, a report has reveal<\/a>ed.<\/p>\n

Drinking is commonplace and some MPs have had their stomachs pumped after consuming so much alcohol that they ended up in hospital, one disclosed.<\/p>\n

Alcohol is \u201cembedded\u201d in how Westminster works, driven by loneliness among MPs, socialising in order to meet ministers, and drinks being served at daytime and evening events.<\/p>\n

The Churchill Room bar on the terrace of the House of Commons. Photograph: Lisa Ryder\/Alamy<\/p>\n

Those are the findings of a survey of 190 MPs and their staff which shows that Westminster\u2019s drinking culture endures, despite rising concern and a string of incidents, including an MP\u2019s researcher allegedly having had her drink spiked<\/a> in Strangers\u2019 bar in parliament and the revelation that the Labour MP Neil Coyle was at one time drinking up to 200 units of alcohol a week<\/a> \u2013 the equivalent of 10 pints a night. The spiking led to a police investigation and the temporary closure of Strangers\u2019 bar.<\/p>\n

The report, by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) thinktank, said: \u201cThe findings suggest that Westminster remains a highly unusual workplace where alcohol is embedded in professional life, networking, lobbying and socialising in ways that would be exceptional in most other UK workplaces.<\/p>\n

Andy Burnham and the chancellor, John Healey, visit a pub during a trip to Essex. The report found alcohol was embedded in networking, lobbying and socialising for those working in Westminster. Photograph: Richard Pohle\/Pool Times Media Ltd\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipants described alcohol as being available throughout the working day, frequently provided for free, and often intertwined with career advancement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty-four MPs, 58 Westminster staff and 108 constituency office personnel shared their experiences and views. One MP, describing how readily available alcohol was at Westminster, said: \u201cGoing to a meeting at noon and alcohol\u2019s available. Of course, I\u2019m not used to that in my old job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The free alcohol at events on the parliamentary estate, which organisations arrange to help them lobby MPs, emerged as a particular issue.<\/p>\n

Another MP said: \u201cWhere else in a work environment would you go, unless it was the works Christmas do, and there was free alcohol there for you? It just wouldn\u2019t happen in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A third said: \u201cYou can start drinking here from 12 o\u2019clock onwards and go around and consume large amounts of alcohol, and it\u2019s relatively freely available.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fourth described events as a \u201clegitimised opportunity to drink alcohol\u201d, while a fifth said this routine provision of alcohol helps to create a \u201ccasual attitude to drinking\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hannah Spencer, the Green party MP elected at the Gorton and Denton byelection in February, received a mixed reaction from MPs when in April she labelled Westminster\u2019s drinking culture \u201cunprofessional and worrying\u201d<\/a> and said it led to cases of \u201cquestionable and dangerous behaviour\u201d. She remarked that \u201cyou can smell the alcohol when people are in between votes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hannah Spencer said she found Westminster\u2019s drinking culture \u2018unprofessional and worrying\u2019 after being elected as an MP this year. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The IAS report also found that:<\/p>\n

Parliament\u2019s long and unusual working hours, the loneliness many MPs experience being away from home, the pressures of the job and socialising in order to advance their careers can all act as catalysts for drinking.<\/p>\n

The report added: \u201cThe availability of alcohol was seen to encourage unhealthy behaviour in general, from affecting colleagues\u2019 sleep and stress levels to potentially normalising high-risk drinking, with one MP referring to colleagues having had their stomachs pumped in hospital and going back into Westminster the following day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some MPs said the findings should prompt Westminster to rethink its attitude to alcohol. The Labour MP Cat Smith said: \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t accept a surgeon operating after a drink or a driver getting behind the wheel \u2013 so why should we accept legislators voting on the laws of the land after one?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re serious about being a professional workplace, we have to ask hard questions about practices like late night votes that sit alongside on-tap bars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beccy Cooper, who was a public health consultant before entering parliament as a Labour MP in 2024, said the report was a wake-up call. In a foreword to the report, she suggested that parliament should draw up its first formal workplace policy on alcohol.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cTwo findings stood out to me. Almost one in 10 respondents reported a negative experience because of someone else\u2019s drinking at work and 70% either didn\u2019t know, or weren\u2019t sure, how to raise a concern about a colleague\u2019s drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat combination \u2013 real, measurable harm and no clear route to address it \u2013 is exactly the kind of gap we need to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some MPs said Westminster should rethink its attitude to alcohol and parts of the job such as late night votes that sit alongside bars on-site. Photograph: House of Commons\/PA<\/p>\n

Katherine Severi, the IAS\u2019s chief executive, said Westminster should limit the provision of free alcohol to evening events as part of a renewed drive to make it a more modern workplace, which many MPs and staff support. \u201cVery few professions these days would allow free alcohol from midday, or regularly host outside organisations sponsoring events where drinking is the norm during working hours,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The report also said that the commercialisation of parliament as an events venue contributed to MPs\u2019 drinking.<\/p>\n

In 2023, parliament\u2019s independent complaints and grievance scheme said alcohol was a \u201cfrequent factor\u201d in its investigations<\/a> into alleged misconduct at Westminster. In its findings of 30 investigations it undertook between 2021 and 2022, it added that drinking in parliament\u2019s array of bars was \u201cleading to intimidating behaviour like shouting and swearing\u201d.<\/p>\n

In July 2023, Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary standards commissioner, said alcohol had led to \u201cbehaviour problems\u201d at Westminster and suggested the sale of alcohol on the state be kept under review.<\/p>\n

A parliament spokesperson said everyone working there had been reminded to use alcohol responsibly, but hinted that immediate changes were unlikely. \u201cAny changes to parliament\u2019s provision of alcohol would ultimately be a matter for members to decide on. The estate is a unique working environment that includes public access and events,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cParliament\u2019s behaviour code makes clear that everyone should be treated with respect at all times, and those who choose to drink alcohol on the estate must do so responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Westminster\u2019s efforts to promote more responsible drinking include greater provision of no- and low-alcohol products and venue staff\u2019s right to refuse to serve anyone who is, or looks likely to become, intoxicated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parliament is \u201cBritain\u2019s last alcohol-soaked workplace\u201d where MPs are offered free drinks as early as midday despite alcohol-related…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-722445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}