Hilary Armstrong : "Three MPs Drank Themselves to Death"
Ex-chief whip Hilary Armstrong has gone on the record to the Whitehall & Westminster newsletter with a candid admission that many MPs are drunks. "There was a period where there was a lot of trouble about drinking. It was an issue for the public and it was an issue for the House of Commons, as there were two or three members who died having had a really serious drink problem..."Perhaps they need to increase the subsidised booze prices in the House of Commons. The bars are awash with young champagne guzzling lobbyists benefiting from some of the cheapest bar prices in London. Surely this is something that IDS should be looking at...
We all know that canny Charlie Kennedy avails himself fully of the cheap bar facilities, but a few other MPs are notoriously worse for wear...
47 comments:
If you got to see that face all day I'd rather be pissed than sober!
Only two or three?
Ian Mills
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
(both died in Parliament)
Sir Peter Morrison
Sir Spencer le Marchant
(both died shortly after leaving)
Hardly surprising MPs hit the bottle. Most do bugger-all, so it doesn't matter if they spend their time boozing as they have no reason to keep a clear head because they are not requried to do any thinking! Hangovers are not a problem when you don't have to get up early and do something productive.
The boredom of doing sod-all gives them a reason to drink just to pass the time of day. In the same way that someone in a proper job might ruin their waistline by visiting the nearest chocolate/crips vending machine, MPs visit the Commons Bar and ruin their livers.
Is the House of Commons even cheaper than the Knights Templar? Surely not!
Is there some cheap and nasty spraytan booth available for Labour MP's in the HoC? I wonder, since there's obviously Hain with his dreadful fake tan, Chancellor Darling now looking like a glass of shaken up rancid orange juice and now Armstrong apparently going for the 2007 worst tan award.
Please stop dissing ma mum.
I thought you were at the cutting edge of breaking news, nothing new in hilary's comments.
If IDS wants to introduce extra revenue from binge drinking, to support druggies, who have contributed fuck all to the economy, then he can ratchet up the cost of booze in the Palace of Westminster to local retail costs.
Boozy scum, an' that includes the lobby.
Sometimes one wonders if some MPs have been playing around with 'recreational' substances, given the lack of oversight over the present government's actions. How else could you explain the failure to ask questions about the responsibilties of the Environment Agency or the MoD to assess flood risks and flood protection; or the inability to manage and deliver projects like nuclear submarines, replacements for the Hercules, and VC10 tankers on time and within budget. Then of course there is the great shambolic management of the Olympics, were ministers high on exotic substances when they looked at the costs or merits of a bid?
Excuses on the lines of youthful indiscretions, and university experiments have appeared from time to time,but would swabs taken within the HoP reveal otherwise? It can't just be alcohol which is numbing the senses of MPs.
You've all missed the most obvious one - Fiona Jones, Labour MP for Newark. Labour MP Roger Stott was another. Drink was a factor in the death of Gordon McMaster...and on and on..bit dull
Kennedy is still a secret booze buyer at Kennington off licence
She used to behave like a rowdy drunk at PMQs when she was Chief Whip, bawling across the floor of the House and slinging insults left, right and centre.
At least that kind of behaviour takes a few bevvies first for most of us... she does it stone-cold sober.
Isn't mandatory for MPs to be piss-artists?
Most of them act like they are pissed all of the time. Then again, maybe it's a genetic malfunction of some kind.
And Hilary Armstrong always reminds me of some sort of drag artiste. Can't quite recall who, though...
Drop the price of booze in the HOC even lower ,even give it to mp's for free ,we then could have lots of bielections as they pop their clogs,they believe in their own pr as to being gods,and being able to control us plebs ,lets send them to the one big god.
What ever is wrong with a bit of subsidy to enlighten the MP's day.Just think of the damage they would do sober. The image of M/s Headstrong brings to mind that old quib from WSC. "Madam come the morn I shall be sober". Also, don't forget the Becket bitch is still around somewhere?
Where's Charlie Elphicke?? anybody seen/know him?
Given as a percentage it is not very high really
and to back up the concensus better druink than sober
I'm with nony 10:48 AM, July 10, 2007.
What do you call three MPs who died of alcoholism? A good start.
Hilary Armstrong : "Three MPs Drunk Themselves to Death"
Not nearly enough
I wish she would drink her fucking self to death!
looking as she does you would think that this haridan would be all in favour of binge drinking , there is no other way she could get laid, even by a lesbian,
"And Hilary Armstrong always reminds me of some sort of drag artiste. Can't quite recall who, though..."
Rubbish. Most drag artistes at least make the effort to look feminine.
The Hitch said...
Push off fatty it's feeding time at the piggery.It's your favourite today lard and chips.Remember what I have been telling you,a bucket of grease a day keeps the doctor away,honest.
Anon 11:51 "Rubbish. Most drag artistes at least make the effort to look feminine."
Yes, but like Ms Armstrong, they usually fail.
It's maybe the glasses but I get a distinct Jeffrey Archer impression.
Who else has a bar, and a subsidised one at that, at their work? Inbetween the cries of "lucky bastards", can anyone tell me why it is there, and if the only reason is the catchall "networking", is that good enough (as it effectively means they are getting pissed during working hours), again pleasae refrain from cries of "lucky bastards"?
Guido wrote: "champagne guzzling lobbyists benefiting from some of the cheapest bar prices in London".
Out of pure noseyness can somebody tell me how 'cheap' is 'cheap'?
What are typical prices in the bars?
I'm looking for something to keep me out of mischief in my retirement and maybe this MP malarkey could fit the bill. I've heard that the pensions are quite good too.
chuck unsworth 12:38 PM
It's maybe the glasses but I get a distinct Jeffrey Archer impression.
Thank you, chuck, you got it - I've been been going through all sorts to put a name to the face! You're right, the glasses are a bit of a red-herring - I've tried Alan Parker, Alan Bennett, Alan Clark and that shaggy dog who assists the General in 101 Dalmations.
Jamie Cann MP (Ipswich): liver failure
The shaggy dog was called Colonel. The horse was Captain and the cat was Sergeant Tibbs. I don't remember a General in 101 Dalmatians.
Toby Jessel famously spoke utter drivel one debate about choo choo trains.....result he got thrashed by the Lib-Dems at the next election, who published extracts of Hansard, who have since held Twickenham with impunity.
Not everyone is an Alan Clark, capable of at least looking sober if not bored, and speaking clearly.
Palace of Westminster should be dry, and we should call for an e-petition on that. Then the assholes can really ignore the electorate.
"Hilary Armstrong : "Three MPs Drunk Themselves to Death"
She's STILL trying to find excuses for losing THAT vote!
says one who has drunk with Hilary and worn a bit better with age.
More boozing, more by elections!
"Three MPs Drunk Themselves to Death".
Are they related to the three brass monkeys? "See no booze, hear no glugging sounds, speak no coherent words.... etc, etc"
cassandra 2:29pm
Oh! Yes dear! Thank you! I do like the firm way you corrected me there! You clearly pay great attention to detail - I really like that in a woman! You can pick me up anytime!
I must admit I seem to have got my ranks and species rather muddled-up - the character I had in mind was Captain the dog...something in the way Ms Armstrong sticks up her head I think...I suspect she also bears a passing resemblance to the late Peter O'Toole...or is it just me?
But back on the subject of 101 Dalmations, I must say that I much admired Sidney Poitier in the role of Sergeant Tibbs.
Keep westminster dry: "Not everyone is an Alan Clark, capable of at least looking sober if not bored, and speaking clearly."
Sadly, no. But Clark had a personal advantage in his early years of learning to drink without falling over, an art which he fully mastered later on. He was slightly caught out by Clair Short on one occasion. Even so, drunk or sober, he was more than a match for most in Parliament - except for 'two bright boys, Blair and Brown' who once gave him a certain amount of trouble in Committee. That said I'd still wish to see him or his like in Parliament today. His great advantage was that he was so wealthy that he could afford to tell anyone and everyone - including the Whips - to get stuffed. That gives one a completely different perspective.
there are two types of people in this world: those who can remember shit, and those who smoke it said...
".I suspect she also bears a passing resemblance to the late Peter O'Toole."
Quite possibly unwell but not late!
No doubt about it,this blog is full of trivia posted by the trivial.
The perfect tense of 'drink' is 'drank' not 'drunk', e.g. '1879 M. E. BRADDON Clov. Foot vii, A woman who drank like a fish and swore like a trooper.' [OED]
And Hilary Armstrong always reminds me of some sort of drag artiste. Can't quite recall who, though...
For some reason she reminds me more of Jeffrey Archer than anyone else; something about the closeness of the eyes ...
They drink to silence their consciences.
Two or three is a quite serious understatement, as will probably be obvious from this thread.
If Hilary Armsrong was a man she would be just plain ugly,,,,
but as a woman- oh god - only her mother could love some one like that
Drinking and smoking are inextricably linked in my experience. Is it true that the Commons bars are exempt from the smoking ban because it is technically a Royal Palace? Bastards!
The bars are exempt from the licensing laws too. This is the same Hilary Armstrong who told me off good and proper for going public in 2004 about legless MP drunks, including ministers, being dragged feet first out of the gents.
MP's always bang on about how responsible their job is and how dilligent they are (particularly when it's pay rise time or an election is in the offing).
Just how responsible and dilligent is it when they can leave their offices; nip into one of several dirt cheap bars and knock back a bottle of discounted plonk; then stagger into the chamber to vote on something that will affect the lives and wallets of millions (at least) before lurching in the direction of the nearest knock shop?
BOF2BS 7:02 PM, July 10
I must have mixed him up with one of his friends - Richard Burton or Harris, the rugby players.
anon 11:43pm
but as a woman- oh god - only her mother could love some one like that
one would hope so, but I imagine there were quite a few hysterical non pain-related screams when she saw that cheery little face popping out.
Can't have been Chuck Kennedy then.
Who shopped Chuck?
Minging Campbell???
Is the woman mad? 3 MPs drank themselves to death! I was only there for 14 years, but I can think of at least 20.
Does anyone actually know (and can you point me to a link) whether MPs are still allowed to smoke in their indoor bars? I've been trying like mad to find out whether it's true or not but keep running across two contradictory claims, 1. that they can only smoke on outdoor terraces, and 2. there are four places they can smoke, including indoor bars and a smoking room. Anyone know for sure?
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