Great Britain
Own pub with rock-bottom prices: Pints, porn and cocaine reign supreme in the British Parliament
Police officers walk past Parliament in Westminster. The reputation of the honorable house is badly damaged.
© Kirsty Wigglesworth/DPA
The heart of British democracy is often called the “mother of all parliaments”. But in London, MPs and staff behave like crazy sons. Now it’s time to save the reputation.
Drinking, coke, sexual assault: in the British Parliament one scandal follows the next. Several MPs resigned for serious misconduct. The reputation of the honorable house is tarnished. But not only parliamentarians of all stripes let the puppets dance, employees too. In March alone, nine alcohol-related security incidents were reported in buildings along the Thames. Much is reminiscent of the celebrations during the corona lockdowns in Downing Street (“Partygate”).
“The House of Commons is not a place where we stay overnight. It is not a place where we turn up completely drunk and uncontrolled,” Justice Secretary Victoria Adams told Times Radio. “This is a workplace. This is not how people should behave in the workplace.” What sounds almost pleading is not the first warning to MPs and employees in the “mother of all parliaments”. For weeks there have been appeals that the culture in Westminster must finally change.
Parliament has its own pub with rock-bottom prices
It is becoming increasingly clear what a central role alcohol plays in the government district. It’s common for MPs, staff, lobbyists and journalists to meet for a chat — and a few pints — at one of the many pubs like the Red Lion. If you don’t go, you can’t have a say. There is a pub in Parliament itself where the prices are significantly lower than anywhere else in the UK.
Conservative Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace also speaks of a serious problem. “It’s long working days, long evenings at the bar, and that has often led to behavioral problems for decades.” The mixture of a lot of work, high pressure and alcohol is “toxic”. “My advice to all MEPs is: avoid the pubs. Finish the day’s work and go home.” But not only alcohol caused scandals this year, also other things.
Conservative MP Neil Parish was watching porn on his cell phone in the boardroom until he was caught by a colleague. The farmer’s line of defense that he had accidentally landed on the side in search of tractors did not last long. Parish had to resign. The case sparked a sexism debate. The Sunday newspaper “Observer” wrote of a “poisonous cocktail” that shook Westminster.
Traces of cocaine in almost every toilet
Parish’s party friend Imran Ahmad Khan was also forced to resign: a court found him guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy a long time ago. Conservative MP David Warburton has been suspended from his parliamentary group after a photo appeared that appeared to show him with cocaine. There were also allegations by three women of sexual harassment. The Labor opposition is also affected. Your MP, Liam Byrne, has been suspended for two days for bullying staff.
When the Brits celebrate, they do it properly
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Cocaine appears to be as common in Parliament as alcohol. In early December 2021, the Sunday Times newspaper reported that traces of the drug had been found in almost all toilets. Members of Parliament, employees and other employees sometimes coke openly. “There is a cocaine culture in Parliament,” the paper quoted a source as saying. “They think they are untouchable, protected by their friends in the parliamentary bubble.” The administration announced that it would examine the use of drug detection dogs.
So far, however, the scandals have not had any major consequences. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle wants to change that. In the “Observer” he suggested a radical reform: This should include that employees are no longer hired directly by members of parliament, but via an external agency. Then there should also be an independent complaints office. These would be the first steps on the long road to restoring reputation.