John Bercow’s attempt to call time on Westminster’s hard-drinking culture was in tatters last night after plans for a total ‘no-alcohol’ policy for Commons staff were ditched.
The Speaker has taken action to curb excessive drinking at the Commons after Labour MP Eric Joyce assaulted colleagues in a Westminster bar. Waiters are now told to top up glasses less frequently and provide more non-alcoholic drinks.
But radical plans to tackle consumption among parliamentary staff – by banning drinking at work – have now been scrapped by Commons managers.
In stormy meetings, rank-and-file workers complained the ban would not apply to MPs, saying: ‘Staff are being penalised because of the actions of drunk MPs.’Incredible, isn't it?
This is the same collection of 650 besuited individuals who - in recent years - have installed an immensely damaging alcohol duty escalator; have encouraged local authorities to issue contracts with drug and alcohol at work policies attached (as in, suppliers must pledge to prohibit their employees from enjoying a lunchtime pint); are currently consulting on minimum alcohol pricing; and have raised the possibility of plain packaging for alcohol.
Now they have the brass neck to try to impose a teetotal regime on Westminster staff ... while at no time ever considering applying any such restrictions to themselves.
Truly they must be superhuman. Just the feat of being elected to parliament renders alcohol harmless to their system and - unlike the other 60 odd million of us, obviously - perfectly capable of making their own free choices.
What unutterable bastards we suffer running this country, eh?
8 comments:
I'm certain they have their relaxed smoking restrictions and designated smoking rooms as well as no alcohol restrictions applying to themselves.
It's really just a question of time. Right now, and continuously, there are people up and down the land sporadically experiencing high levels of outrage. It's like popcorn: pop, pop, ... pop. But a time will come when all those 'pop's sound together. Just by chance, a huge number of people will, not only be incandescent with rage, but will notice that many, many others are, too. Perhaps, then, things will seriously start to change.
I wonder if we can demand they do risk assessments of being an MP?
They really are moving much too quickly onto this new bandwagon, aren’t they, impatient little minxes? Haven’t they learned anything from their anti-smoking tutors?? Step one – first you shame or scare enough people (including MPs) into giving up drinking completely “for the good of their health” to ensure that non-drinkers form a significant majority, and only then (step 2) do you start up a cry for “drinking restrictions” which your newly-converted teetotallers will take up the cudgels for. But Step 1 has to be completed before Step 2 is attempted, otherwise it’ll fall flat on its face – as Bercow has just discovered.
About Highland Council WATCH at WAR
http://www.muirmatters.co.uk/war.html
WAR Declared on Highland Council by an Enemy of the State, Sovereign Freeman in Lawful Rebellion
also at
http://www.youtube.com/user/muiroford1
Absolutely right, Dick. spot on!
Only a politician could do all of the above, while at the same time taking ever increasing amounts of money off us to make THEIR booze cheaper...
The rest of us cannot drink at work for fear of losing out jobs - and rightly so. Perhaps it is the drinking at work that is the reason for all the stupid laws and restrictions they put on the rest of us! After all, no-one in their right mind, or sober, could come up with most of the ludicrous stuff they do, and get away with!
Disgraceful - THEY should be BANNED!
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