Green MP Hannah Spencer has challenged Prime Minister Keir Starmer over whether MPs should continue to enjoy reduced-price drinks in Parliament. The Gorton and Denton MP had previously expressed feeling 'really uneasy' about the drinking culture at Westminster, noting that some MPs vote after consuming subsidised alcohol.
Spencer's Concerns at PMQs
During Prime Minister's Questions, Spencer raised the issue, stating: 'In Gorton and Denton, we have to pay full price for a pint. But here, for some reason, it's cheaper. And some MPs drink before voting and that really shocked me when I came to parliament, because it is our workplace.' She argued that such behaviour has been 'unprofessional' and cited instances of 'questionable and dangerous behaviour.'
Spencer pressed Starmer: 'Does the Prime Minister agree with his own MPs who've defended their right to drink cheap alcohol at work? Or does he agree with me that MPs shouldn't be drinking on the job, given that we vote on huge things like the climate crisis, disabled people's rights, housing, and child poverty?'
Starmer's Response
In his reply, Starmer welcomed Spencer to her first PMQ but pivoted to criticise Green Party leader Zack Polanski over his tax affairs. Earlier in May, the Green Party admitted that Polanski may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a London houseboat. Starmer quipped: 'Can I firstly welcome her to our place because I think this is her first PMQ. There are going to be different views on whether people should be able to enjoy a drink here or not, but I think we can agree that the majority of people in this country want an economy that works for them, public services that are there when they need them, and every child going as far as their talent or ability will take them. The only way to deliver that is through a Labour government, as we are doing. I know the Greens think that their leader walks on water, it turns out that he just lives on water and doesn't pay his council tax.'
Polanski has since apologised after facing questions about whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. Government guidance states that a person may be liable for council tax on a boat if it is their 'sole or main' residence.
