...New Labour...beer the drink of choice

Since the election, Labour MPs have drunk so much beer that the best known bar in the House of Commons - the Strangers bar - ran out. Commons catering managers have also had to open the Terrace bar, normally closed during the summer, to cope with the demand. Even before the election, around 1 million pounds worth of alcohol was consumed in Parliament each year. However, a member of the catering staff says that since the election 'They (the MPs) are breaking all records. We've never seen anything like it.'

Alan Meale, Labour MP for Mansfield and chairman of the Parliamentary Beer Club said he was proud that most of the new Labour MPs drank the traditional brew of the working class. He suggested that one reason for the heavy consumption was that House of Commons committees had not yet been established with the result that a lot of new MPs were sitting around without a great deal to do. They were also still celebrating the election victory.