Westminster drinking culture blamed for bad behaviour

A culture of drinking is fuelling inappropriate behaviour in Westminster, according to Parliament's behaviour watchdog.

The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) found drinking in Parliament's many bars often led to "intimidating behaviour".

The findings were based on 30 ICGS investigations between 2021 and 2022.

Blurred personal and professional boundaries were also a common cause of complaints, the ICGS added.

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The ICGS, set up in 2018 in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against MPs, said alcohol was a "frequent factor" in its investigations.

Its annual report, published on Tuesday, said regular theme in its investigations were Parliament's many bars, where alcohol consumption is "leading to intimidating behaviour like shouting and swearing".

Alcohol was affecting the ability of witnesses to recollect incidents, it said.

One former parliamentary staffer called the findings "unsurprising", as "everyone there knows it is bad".

The staffer, who said he left parliament in part due to the "toxic" culture driven by alcohol, said Westminster's many bars sometimes made it a "fun place to work".

Speaking to the BBC on the condition of anonymity, the ex-staffer said the drinking culture "is a symptom of a much, much larger problem of the lack of professionalism from MPs and staff".

"That's what leads to an abuse of power and ultimately a poor use of taxpayers' money in the bars of Parliament," he added.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, said in July there had been "behaviour problems" linked to drinking in Westminster.

He told Times Radio that "it is something that again requires to be kept under review" but argued "individual MPs will obviously decide what works for them".

Blurred lines

There are lots of bars and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster, which is situated in central London, for the use of MPs, peers, staff and other passholders.

And there are dozens of clubs, bars and restaurants in Whitehall attended by MPs and their staff.

The ICGS report also said the "blurred boundaries" between personal and professional life were at the heart of multiple complaints about inappropriate behaviour.

"A lack of professional boundaries resulted in incorrect assumptions being formed about acceptable behaviours," the report said.

"Examples include invitations to events where the purpose or connection to parliamentary work may not be clear, overly frequent calls/messages and at unreasonable hours, and overly familiar behaviour."

The report found "most cases" the ICGS dealt with related to a power imbalance, with the person being complained about having direct power over a complainant. This power gap was often "amplified where staff were in their first job or at very early stages in their career", the report added.

The report also noted that including cases where "managers were bullied" by the staff they managed.

Elsewhere in the report revealed the ICGS helpline got fewer calls this year - 479 compared to 701 last year - but the number of formal complaints was in line with last year.

The ICGS budget was increasing 13.3% to £1.87m in 2023-24, the report revealed.