Barred! Lords vs Commons
A PARLIAMENTARY civil war between MPs and Lords over who gets to use the other’s bars sparked tit-for-tat boozing bans.
It started when Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle was turfed off the Lords’ terrace this month by staff claiming he did not have access privileges.
Peers then found themselves banned from the Strangers’ Bar at the Commons end of the Parliament.
One peer, a prominent former Labour MP, is said to have “gone ballistic” when he was asked to leave in front of his guests.
Angry peers sent someone from Black Rod’s office to confront the Commons Serjeant-at-Arms. “Now there is an uneasy truce,” said one peer on the Strangers’ Terrace after successfully buying a pint.
MPs have been upset by floods of Parliamentary staff and researchers in their bar. “It became too much like a youth club,” said one MP.