Anger at Bercow bid to curb boozy MPs
JOHN BERCOW has been accused of trying to introduce a ‘Prohibition-style’ drink ban at Westminster to curb the Commons’ ‘booze’ culture.
Sources say the Speaker demanded a ban on all alcohol sales throughout the Commons during the day.
Mr Bercow is said to have faced fierce protests from MPs over the impact on Westminster’s lucrative hospitality business and on staff jobs. The row comes a year on from the so-called ‘Pestminster’ scandal, which led to the resignation of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon over historic accusations of ‘lunging’ at a journalist.
MPs will today debate a damning report by Dame Laura Cox into bullying and harassment at Westminster. Misbehaviour at Parliament has long been linked to the Commons ‘booze culture’.
Mr Bercow, who has denied allegations of bullying against him, is understood to have proposed a daytime drink ban at a meeting of the Commons Commission. But a source said: ‘Other MPs opposed it as it’d take us back to the 1920s-style Prohibition in America, at least before the sun went down.’
The commission is understood to be looking at compromise plans to ban alcohol in Commons cafeterias and to stop contractors working on the parliamentary estate from drinking.
A source close to Mr Bercow denied he had called for a ‘total ban’ on drink sales. But she added: ‘He does think we need to make the Commons more like a modern workplace and I think most people would agree that drinking during the daytime is not a good idea.’