The Gorton and Denton MP had previously claimed she felt ‘really uneasy’ about Parliament’s drinking culture, and that MPs were voting after drinks in Westminster
Green MP Hannah Spencer has challenged Keir Starmer over whether MPs should enjoy reduced drinks in parliament.
The Gorton and Denton MP had previously claimed she felt “really uneasy” about Parliament’s drinking culture, and that MPs were voting after enjoying subsidised booze.
She had argued some MPs had been “unprofessional” and said there had been cases of “questionable and dangerous behaviour.”
Raising the issues at PMQs, she said: “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.
READ MORE: Who is Hannah Spencer? Green Party’s NEW Gorton and Denton MP after shock resultREAD MORE: Should MPs be allowed to drink in the Commons? Have your say
“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?”.
Responding, the PM welcomed her to Westminster, but mocked the Green leader Zack Polanski over his tax affairs. Earlier this month, the Green Party admitted Mr Polanski may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a London houseboat.
He said: “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.”
Mr Polanski has now apologised after facing a series of 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.