Cost of a pint in Parliament leaves people floored

No wonder they enjoy a drink

Speaking with PoliticsJOE, the winner of the recent Gorton and Denton constituency byelection slammed the boozing culture that she was shocked to find in Parliament.

"I'm really uneasy about it - I noticed this the other day," Spencer explained, "you can smell the alcohol when people are in between votes".

She continued: "There's a room where I walk past and I doubled back and looked in because people are just sat having a drink.

"But again, that's a job. I can't imagine if a cleaner did that or someone working in a bank had a few drinks and then went back to work a bit smelling of alcohol. 

"That wouldn't happen."

Spencer went on to to note the "questionable and dangerous behaviour allegedly from MPs with staff" due to a "culture of a really unprofessional and worrying setting where people can just drink alcohol while they're in work.

"Life doesn't work like that."

Spencer used this example to highlight just how out of touch Westminster is with the rest of the country.

She said "That is what I find very out of touch about that place, it's things like that that. 

"I just think the vast majority of us that have come from backgrounds of normal jobs - that's not how the world works. 

"So why does it work in somewhere where arguably the most important decisions get made?"

How much is a drink in Parliament?

Now, the staggeringly cheap cost of a pint in Parliament has been revealed and, compared to the rest of London, it might be the best place to drink in town.

The government keep an updated list of drink prices for each season, with the latest prices from winter 2025.

The cheapest beer on the menu is a Carlsberg at £5.45 while a Guinness will only cost you just £5.60.

The most expensive beer offering is a £5.80 Estrella Dam while a glass of wine only costs £6.20.

With the average price of a pint in London at about £7 in central London, it's clear to see that Strangers' Bar is offering a tempting cut-rate price to its patrons.

The full menu can be viewed below:

Are drinks in Parliament subsidised?

The world of catering subsidies in Parliament - unsurprisingly - appears to be a murky one.

As per the Parliament website, there is not a subsidy on catering "in the commercial sense".

The site reads: "Rather than a subsidy, the House monitors the contribution or cost of each catering venue, which include cafeterias, dining rooms, restaurants and bars.

"Prices of food and drink are regularly benchmarked against appropriate external comparators."

However, people still question how the food and drinks end up cheaper than the going rate around the centre of London.

What have others said about Parliament boozing?

Spencer's comments have not gone unnoticed, with a number of MPs hitting back at the accusations while Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage has also weighed in.

Luke Charters, Labour MP for York Outer, hit back on X as he wrote: "Breaking news: MPs are human and sometimes have a drink. Classic clickbait farming

"MPs work long days for constituents, and yes, sometimes share a drink in the evening with colleagues. Last week I was scandalously spotted with… an alcohol-free pint or two between votes.

"But sure, let’s talk about that instead of the Greens’ wacky policies. Trying to distract us, maybe?

Meanwhile Nigel Farage also hit back. He wrote: "The Greens are happy to legalise heroin and crack, but now we learn they think an afternoon pint is a step too far. Make it make sense."