What kind of fucked-up, dysfunctional workplace is our government operating in?

[noblegiraffe]

Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament? Can't get through the day without a suitcase of wine in Downing Street, drugs everywhere in Parliament? Subsidised bars on work premises?

I guess the fact that they tried to make an exemption for the bars in the Houses of Parliament when introducing a curfew for pubs should have been a warning sign that there's far too much reliance on alcohol in our ruling classes.

There was a lot of talk about standards in public life during the Owen Paterson scandal. Surely not being pissed or high on the job is a basic standard?

Aside from the issue that they couldn't even stop having massive piss-ups during lockdown, AIBU to think that something needs to be done to introduce basic rules like 'If you're not safe to drive, you're not allowed to vote in new laws'?

If you wouldn't be happy with a teacher teaching your kids half-cut and would expect rules to prevent this, why should we tolerate our government ruling the country while making their way through the contents of the wine fridge?

People have been posting 'oh yes, it's always been like this'.

Well it shouldn't be in future.

MPs shouldn't be drinking during the working day. Ever. No one should. Work is work. You're paid to do a job.

UnconditionalSurrender
FS whatever Tory bots are on here trying to deflect and throw muck at Keir Starmer and Labour MPs who have been dead for 6 years

The op's example was from 2010 - but that's ok because it was a Tory MP?

@Clavinova

Piggywaspushed That's not my position , clav. My position is the binge drinking and knees up culture is irresponsible.

But you think it's absolutely fine for Keir Starmer to be photographed drinking alcohol 'at work' on 22 April, 23 April and 30 April? Bearing in mind that he also entered a pub on the 19 April but the landlord 'threw him out' for political reasons - no doubt he would have drunk another pint there as well.

Plenty of political figures are photographed with a beer or three! Farage made a career out of it....

I think the difference is Boris was making the rules, ensuring they were enforced on us.... but clearly didn't think they applied to him, hence 17 examples of parties plus friday evening binges encouraged.

If folk in no10 had drunk a bottle of beer now and again, we wouldn't be seeing leading Tories calling for Boris's resignation.

This isn't the usual opposition figures wanting him to go.

@Clavinova

The bots are out in force today

Bots? Don't be ridiculous.

That is just what a bot would say! To be fair I don't think you are one, but they do lurk amongst us.

The op's example was from 2010 - but that's ok because it was a Tory MP?

No idea what party he was from, the article didn't say. The reason for my posting that story was to counteract claims that MPs with access to subsidised bars in the Houses of Parliament are merely drinking small amounts of alcohol and certainly not getting drunk.

UnconditionalSurrender
FS whatever Tory bots are on here trying to deflect and throw muck at Keir Starmer and Labour MPs who have been dead for 6 years

And if I am criticising anyone for the MP's death - it's his Labour Party colleagues;

The 73-year-old backbencher was sent to bed by colleagues to “sleep it off” after complaining of feeling ill.

We have random drink and drug testing they should be doing that not encouraging

@Sherrystrull

MPs shouldn't be drinking during the working day. Ever. No one should. Work is work. You're paid to do a job.

Exactly this and quite frankly it's unprofessional.

However as @WinnersDinner points out there still exist some industries with a 1990s mindset towards alcohol either at work, so much alcohol that it affects you the next day or encouraging a binge drinking culture after work. In much the same way as certain industries still seem to tolerate casual sexism, passing it off as "lad's banter".

I am fortunate to work in an industry where neither heavy drinking or casual sexism is tolerated, but I can recognise certain industries still need to professionalise and catch up with current attitudes.

MPs shouldn't be drinking during the working day. Ever. No one should. Work is work. You're paid to do a job.
Exactly this and quite frankly it's unprofessional.

Does that include Keir Starmer's 'pub crawl' around the country and what looks like two beers at a constituency 'work' meeting?

Does that include Keir Starmer's 'pub crawl' around the country and what looks like two beers at a constituency 'work' meeting?

Yes. No one should be drinking at work.

YABU. Teachers / surgeons aren't comparable because kids / precision. I worked in HoP for years, and Europarl where wine us served in meetings as standard so my view is clouded. It's not going to change.

It's not going to change.

I think it absolutely should.

I’m convinced there are a lot of Tory shills online these days.

Personally I think the need to drug test MPs like they do the army.

Piggywaspushed you've summed it up perfectly.

‘However as @WinnersDinner points out…’

By the way, WinnerDinner’s posts are being deleted on other threads.

Do you not think the nature of the hours - late night sittings - change things slightly? What's wrong with an MP having a drink in the evening?

Should I be having a drink in the evening when it's parents evening then? Mojito on the desk next to me as I chat to parents?

@Clavinova

MPs shouldn't be drinking during the working day. Ever. No one should. Work is work. You're paid to do a job. Exactly this and quite frankly it's unprofessional.

Does that include Keir Starmer's 'pub crawl' around the country and what looks like two beers at a constituency 'work' meeting?

Of course. No exceptions.

@roarfeckingroarr

Do you not think the nature of the hours - late night sittings - change things slightly? What's wrong with an MP having a drink in the evening?

No. They're at work.

@roarfeckingroarr

YABU. Teachers / surgeons aren't comparable because kids / precision. I worked in HoP for years, and Europarl where wine us served in meetings as standard so my view is clouded. It's not going to change.

Ah I see. Teachers are held on a higher platform than MPs and are therefore paid accordingly...

What's quite worrying is that some people seem to think that it is completely unreasonable to expect people to go without alcohol for a whole evening.

For those saying the drink at work culture is rife

Teachers, care assistants, police officers, lorry drivers etc, you know, the types this country couldn’t function without, would be sacked for it.

Slap in the face that entitled, fuckwit politicians get pissed at our expense then vote laws through that affect us, when we would be sacked.

@roarfeckingroarr

Do you not think the nature of the hours - late night sittings - change things slightly? What's wrong with an MP having a drink in the evening?

If they are working, they shouldn’t be drinking booze, no matter what time of day it is.

They can drink at all the times they are not at work like everyone else.

Can you imagine the parental comments if I marked homework pissed? I work most evenings as a teacher and manage to not drink.

The time of day is irrelevant.

NHS staff manage to work evening shifts without drinking. Teachers manage to do parents evening/marking/planning/school concerts in the evening without drinking. I’m sure MPs and civil servants can manage it, too.