Drinking on the job. Hannah Spencer criticised after raising bar concerns.

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https://youtube.com/shorts/MocbPQkHKiU?si=A1qrElwKN3jVJ0v-

Apparently Hannah Spencer is facing a backlash for raising this. Why the bar is subsidised is one valid question and drinking when working another. Might be career suicide but I think good on her for bringing this up.

I think it’s a pious Green story about nothing. Live and let live. She’s not the brightest. It’s not a hill to die on and no one is drunk.

Although it is unusual in many jobs and organisations, people do have pub lunches and mid day pints still in my workplace and the workplace i was in before
Personally I dont because a glass of wine would make me sleepy but its not against the law and where do we draw the line in dictating what people can orcannot do?

Seperate issue is the subsidised element- why is it subsidised thats not right...

@Bezziebev Because it doesn’t need to make a profit. No rent or council tax. Just bar staff I assume do it’s not like a commercial bar. Frankly, we’ve got more important things to think about but this silly women thought the bar was a top priority!? We elect idiots.

A independent report stated that alcohol contributed to complaints regarding bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in the Houses of Parliament.

I suspect some people are struggling to see past the fact that this has been raised by Hannah Spencer and that’s stopping them admitting that she might have point.

You don’t have to support the Green Party to think that a work culture where drinking alcohol on the premises is causing issues around bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct is problematic.

An absolutely vast amount of hospitality goes on in Parliament- MPs having receptions for charities, major local employers etc. Very little of it is MPs getting pissed by themselves or with each other. Other roles that involve relationships and networking are similar- big companies, law firms etc often have in-house hospitality services, including alcohol.

If they didn't have bars on the Parliamentary estate, they'd all be fighting to book out the nearest ones in Westminster (which London office workers wouldn't thank them for) and it would be a security nightmare too.

So I do think it's a deeply unserious idea- and a sign that the MP concerned arrived in Parliament without a good understanding of the range of activities MPs undertake.

If people are drinking excessively- and especially if they're then behaving badly afterwards- that's an obviously different point. Fortunately there's now a well-established independent complaint scheme in place to drive out unacceptable behaviour.

A report from that independent complaints commission did find that alcohol was a factor in a significant number of complaints relating to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.

I’d be interested in knowing what was being done to address this.

Yeah what’s she like! I think we should all be allowed to drink at work, its only fair!

I'm not happy with serious laws being voted on while they can be drunk.

I'm not happy we pay £6 million in tax to subside their cheap drinks.

I'm not happy women are being assaulted and harassed because drinking alcohol at the office is so normalised for them.

If they are in the bar, they aren’t actually working! Plus being at Westminster is a tiny fraction of the work they do. Lots of it is committees, commenting on proposed legislation, meeting constituents, making visits and a whole host of other things. Plenty don’t go to the House of Commons daily. Look at the benches! Are they full? Such ludicrous comments. Are they drunk! Of course not. We just want everyone to conform to pious expectations. They are allowed down time and plenty of people do this when they might have to work late and pop out to the pub for a quick drink. If she doesn’t like it, she can avoid the bar.

It’s yet another reason why we have poor quality MPs. The money is poor and everyone complains about them getting a cheep pint! Who would find up a good job to be scrutinised like this? Not many these days.

The bars are not subsidised, the tax payers aren’t funding it and a whole host of people use them, not just MPs.
Personally I’d prefer my MP to be focussing on ensuring convicted rapists receive custodial sentences rather than a slap on the wrist. Has Hannah said anything about this yet?

Luckily this isn’t what’s happening.

There is a complaints procedure in place. If she sees misconduct she should report it. If she has a problem with beer being more expensive in her constituency campaign against the Minimum wage. People should not be drunk in the HoC but they are voting at 10pm so probably had a drink with an evening meal. She made a comment, saw she got loads of her supporters going ' Yeah why are MPs falling down drunk in Parliament?' and repeated it. What else has she done apart from tiktoks and photo oops?

What your thoughts on the independent report that stated alcohol played a significant role in complaints relating to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct?

Someone pointed out that this is because lots of their supporters don’t drink

She's right. The house of commons is full of coked up alcoholics who have subsidised fine dining and it's a piss take.

I hate people who arrive at a very long established work place and instead of getting a feel for the place and getting to know people they immediately think they know better and go round telling everyone else how they ought to do things. She's a moralistic idiot with an over inflated sense of entitlement and of her own importance. Any criticism of her is entirely deserved.

Simple answer is to put MPs and Peers into the governance of the Civil Service code.
No drinking during working hours, no freebies or unsolicited gifts, etc.

@Ophir Really? No proof of that. They aren’t the tree huggers of old. More likely to be anti semitic far left supports. Are they non drinkers? Since when?

@Owly11 I agree. If MPs have been at Westminster from 9-9, who says they cannot reasonably have a drink and chat to colleagues? It’s not civil service hours! Who has ever thought it impairs judgement? MPs just vote to order in the main. They do lots of other work and this constant criticism is just crass.

They target Muslim support @MeetMeOnTheCorner

It isn't subsidised, it's at cost price.

Being an MP is a job like few others. Irregular, late hours. Away from family and home.

I left parliament years ago (not an MP) and for 95% it's not problematic. Hannah's trying to make a point.

Exactly this

@HighLadyofTheNightCourtit's power imbalance, the rarity of jobs on the estate that makes young people not want to rock the boat, and concentrated entitled males drunk on their own importance that's the problem - not alcohol.

You don’t think alcohol contributing to complaints of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct as problematic?

The independent report stated that alcohol played a significant part in those complaints.

Also - our embassies are staffed by the civil service - they never ever offer drinks to anyone? Of course they do. Getting drunk is not acceptable but having a glass of wine with colleagues is. Drink doesn’t make someone bully others. Their ego dies that.