Parliamentary staff add to pressure over ‘heavy drinking culture’ on estate
Nigel Farage has accused Green MP Hannah Spencer of wanting to ban ‘an afternoon pint’. But those who spend time in parliament say concerns are real
Current and former Westminster politicians and staffers have echoed concerns raised by Green MP Hannah Spencer about the inappropriate use of alcohol on the parliamentary estate.
Spencer drew attention to the issue in an interview with Politics Joe, saying she was “uneasy” with colleagues drinking alcohol while at work and that she could “smell alcohol” when people were between votes in the House of Commons. Her comments provoked a backlash from colleagues, some of whom defended the very different behaviour of drinking with colleagues after work, and others such as Reform leader Nigel Farage who accused the Green MP of wanting to ban “an afternoon pint”.
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But speaking to Hyphen, others with first-hand experience of the issue have called for parliamentary authorities to implement changes to make the site more inclusive.
One former parliamentary employee who worked in the Houses of Parliament between 2017 and 2019 said there was a “really heavy drinking culture”, adding: “Everyone was out for drinks pretty much every night.” Some specific MPs, she said, would be out on the terrace “over and over again”, making her workplace seem “claustrophobic”. “There was so much unacceptable behaviour, people getting so drunk in their workplace on evenings,” she said.
“Alcohol was heavily involved with people climbing to the next level. It was fine for my peers who were men to go for lunchtime beers and talk about their promotion opportunities and what experience they needed to get there and that was just never offered to me.” She added that alcohol was “used in a way that was synonymous with access”.
Alcohol use is also a driver of poor behaviour and misconduct in the workplace, according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies. In 2019, the insurance market Lloyds of London banned its 40,000 pass holders from consuming alcohol during working hours. The Czech parliament banned drinking during work hours inside the legislature in 2014.
Drinking in parliament has “a very corrosive effect”, according to Khalid Mahmood, the former Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr from 2001 to 2024. He gave the example of former MP Eric Joyce who was convicted of assault in 2012 following a fight in the Strangers’ Bar in parliament.
“There’s been a number of these issues,” he continued. “I think the problem is that there are a lot of MPs who are essentially on their own, by and large, in the position where they just end up sort of socially drinking on a regular basis.”
One Muslim former staffer to an MP said while working in parliament they had heard about incidents involving alcohol consumption on the estate that had made them feel unsafe. “I obviously agree that alcohol should not be served on the premises,” they said.
A current staffer, who is also Muslim, offered a more nuanced view. “I’m older and care less about the Westminster experience, so I don’t engage in it much,” they said. “A lot of younger staffers at the start of their careers do stick around late and go to lots of events, and I guess there’s more of a culture of never leaving because your boss is always there.” But they pointed out that no one is forcing staff to stay in a bar until 11pm.
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They added that it was unfair to say that “politicians are corrupt, do nothing and just drink all day”. The staffer was adamant, however, that parliament needs to modernise. “If you addressed the long, unsociable hours, votes at 11pm, etc, you would address, partly, the problem of drinking, but also that it’s not family-friendly, it deters people with caring or other responsibilities,” they said.
Crossbench peer Shaista Gohir said it would be difficult to end drinking in work hours, in part because they are so long. Baroness Gohir added that, from what she has seen, most colleagues imbibe in moderation and behave well, and there are sanctions that are used to counter poor behaviour. She did say, however, that she would like to see a bar for “healthy fruit juices and smoothies”.
Spencer is not the first MP to have raised this issue in recent years. In 2021, Conservative MP and former minister Tracey Crouch accused colleagues of “reeking” of alcohol while working.
Mahmood does believe the problem has decreased in the last decade. However, he says there is still “huge access to alcohol” and would like to see party whips take action to deter drinking during work, while supporting anyone who has a problematic relationship with alcohol.
