The end of Covid has brought with it the long-overdue restoration of liberties. And few know that better than thirsty MPs and their staff on the parliamentary estate, with the reopening last week of the famous parliament’s Sports and Social bar. On the night in question, Mr S was one of those piling into the legislative watering holes and was the first to report Labour backbencher Neil Coyle’s ‘expletive-laiden tirade’ at Tory MP Craig Williams.
It now transpires that following a complaint, Coyle has now been temporarily banned from the estate’s bars – quite the feat to achieve on the first night of normalcy. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has now been dragged into the debate about MPs’ drinking habits, having been forced to defend Strangers on Radio 5 Live this morning. He claimed that those in parliament need an ‘outlet’ after working long hours and that if the MPs’ bar was abolished, they would simply pack out the nearby Red Lion instead.
Still, not all those who work in Parliament are such a fan of having drinking facilities available on site. One disgruntled staffer who works near Strangers’ bar told Mr S that on no less than two occasions in the past week, they have opened their office in the morning to find vomit in the nearby phone booths. They quipped to Steerpike: ‘I know we’re all sick of the partygate saga, but that doesn’t mean they have to do it right outside the office!’
Charming. Elsewhere, Mr S hears there’s rumblings of discontent on the estate about the menu listings in Parliament. Today’s lunchtime offering promised ‘Chairman Mao’s braised tofu with steamed jasmine rice’ – presumably catering to the tastes of ‘Beijing Barry’ Gardiner. After Tory wags suggested other dictator-themed pudding puns and accusations that Chinese infiltration of Parliament could only go so far, right-on chefs subsequently changed the menu to ‘Chinese braised tofu’ instead.
Even on matters of food and drink, it’s good to see our MPs are still no Strangers to controversy.
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