Imagine arriving at your office, passing by your colleagues, and noticing an intense whiff of beer or wine just before making a decision that will change the course of your company. Well, imagine that that is what happens in a group of people that has to make laws that condition the lives of millions of people.
That is what, according to Hannah Spencer, regularly happens in the Palace of Westminster, in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The newly elected deputy of the British Green Party has put her finger on one of the most sacred (and criticized) traditions of her country’s politics: the deep-rooted culture of alcohol in the chamber.
Spencer, who won the Gorton and Denton by-election last February and is 34 years old, lit the fuse during an interview with the portal PoliticsJOEwhich has then expanded to global levels with an intervention on the matter in the same Chamber.
With the freshness of someone who has just landed in the establishmentafter being plumber and advisor, confessed to feeling “really uncomfortable” with the atmosphere in the corridors of Westminster. “You can smell the alcohol when people are between votes,” he said openly, unleashing a real political storm. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that a deputy be sober when voting on decisions that affect everyone else. I would have been fired from my job if I did this, and the same goes for almost any profession,” he later told the newspaper. The Guardiancomparing the impunity of politicians with the strict regulations of the private sector. An office worker or a cleaner, he says, would be punished under the same conditions.
“I don’t think it’s too much to ask that a representative be sober when voting on decisions that affect everyone else. I would have been fired from my job if I did this”
Far from being intimidated by the initial criticism of her colleagues, who clearly saw themselves in the target and called her complaints “political exhibitionism”, the progressive deputy decided to take the battle directly to the heart of the debate. During Prime Minister’s Questions (known as PMQs), Spencer stood up to the Labor leader, Keir Starmer, with an intervention that raised blisters and has gone viral.
“In Gorton and Denton we have to pay full price for our pints, but here, for some reason, it’s cheaper,” denounced the green politician, alluding to the subsidized bars that operate within the parliamentary precinct. “Some MPs drink before voting and that really surprised me when I arrived… Does the Prime Minister agree with his own MPs who defend their right to drink cheap alcohol at work, or does he agree with me that drinking should not be done during working hours?”
The bench’s response did not come in the form of an argument, but rather noise. The representatives were constantly booed and interrupted by several outraged parliamentarians. Of all political colors, too. Among the murmurs captured by the microphones in the Commons room, pearls such as “get a life” or “fix your own policies” were heard.
For his part, the premier Starmer chose to take a profile and avoided clarifying whether or not he supports cutting the flow of alcohol in Westminster. “There are deputies who try to tell us that they have the right to get drunk at work, and that is why they are so disconnected from reality,” Spencer added through his networks.
An old controversy
Although Spencer’s words have sounded revolutionary, the truth is that the crusade against alcohol in British politics has been going on for a long time. As recalled by an analysis of The Spectatorthe young MP has not invented anything new: she is picking up the baton of a deep tradition of the British left and the historic “Temperance Movement”, which plagued parliamentary agendas during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when alcohol was considered a distraction from real social problems such as poverty and unemployment.
However, the defense of post-meeting drink It continues to have its followers in the parliamentary ranks. Some MPs argue that the atmosphere in Westminster – where marathon days are chained that last until late into the night – encourages loneliness and stress, pushing legislators to use internal bars as an escape route or a socialization tool necessary to forge alliances and negotiate laws.
While the debate is still alive and divides public opinion, take to the streets: surveys already show that 76% of citizens see voting under the influence of alcohol as unacceptable. Therefore, with that endorsement, Spencer has made it clear that he does not plan to take a step back in his battle. Despite having received invitations from political rivals to “discuss their prejudices” with a beer in hand, the deputy insists that the rules of the game have to change.
Westminster is a workplace and not a pub, he stresses.
