UK: 'Out of touch' House of Lords guzzled champagne worth $113,000 in 2023
The Upper House of the UK Parliament- The House of Lords
Champagne worth a whopping $113,000 was sold for events within the upper house of the UK Parliament—the House of Lords—over the year 2023, the highest figure in six years.
In total, nearly 1,600 bottles were sold throughout the year, a figure revealed following a freedom of information request.
Scottish National Party (SNP) lambasts the House of Lords
The revelation attracted severe criticism from the members of the Scottish National Party (SNP), a staunch critic of the concept behind the unelected house.
“A parliament where unelected Lords glug fizz and collect £342 a day just for showing up is not a parliament fit to properly represent the people,” said Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP for Edinburgh East.
Due to its staunch opposition to the House of Lords, the SNP has no representative in the house. “Voters will be fizzing to hear that, while they were struggling to balance household finances and pay for basics like groceries and energy, unelected Lords were glugging back champagne,” Sheppard added.
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The SNP also claimed that the staggering figure proved how the Lords was “archaic and out of touch” at the time of a raging cost of living crisis.
“The past year has been defined by Westminster’s cost of living crisis that has seen living standards plummet and countless more households pushed into poverty and deprivation – a reality alien to the Lords and their lavish lifestyles,” said Sheppard.
Clarification from the House of Lords
A spokesperson for the House of Lords later clarified that the majority of the champagne sold inside the house was for events held by external organisations and had nothing to do with the representatives.
The spokesperson also said that the champagne was sold “at profit” and was not paid for by taxpayers’ money.
"Most of the champagne sold by the House of Lords is bought by visitors in the gift shop and consumed away from Parliament by members of the public, or sold at banqueting events to organisations or individuals hosting the event in the House of Lords,” the spokesperson stated.
(With inputs from agencies)