A former parliamentary insider has delivered a stark assessment of alcohol in the parliamentary workplace, revealing how drinking has become deeply embedded in Westminster life at the expense of staff wellbeing and professional standards.

Lisa Erlandsen, Policy Manager at the Alcohol Health Alliance, spoke at the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice All-Party Parliamentary Group meeting during Alcohol Awareness Week, reflecting on her years working for MPs to highlight five critical areas where Westminster’s drinking environment undermines both staff and MP welfare.

Alcohol is Everywhere and Normalised

Erlandsen highlighted the extraordinary number of bars within Parliament for a single workplace, alongside gift shops and cafés selling alcohol throughout the building. This prevalence of alcohol in the parliamentary workplace extends beyond infrastructure into daily operations.

MP offices routinely stocked wine for fundraisers and alcohol-related raffle prizes. One constituency office operated above a local party association building that happened to be a pub. Staff regularly attended local and national party events where “the alcohol flows and so can the impropriety.”

Lunchtime drinking with colleagues and after-work “sundowners” became standard practice. This drinking environment created a culture where non-participation meant missing crucial networking opportunities. “If you didn’t go, you didn’t build connections,” Erlandsen explained, describing how alcohol blurred professional boundaries during MP-staff social interactions.

Unique Job Pressures Create Isolation and Risk

Parliamentary staff face extraordinary pressures that few other professions encounter. Erlandsen described being “spat at, jeered at from cars, and even followed home,” whilst security measures included bomb-proof letterboxes and dedicated police hotlines following high-profile attacks on MPs.

Both MPs and staff regularly receive death threats, face aggressive constituents who scream and swear, and handle deeply emotional casework in isolation. These traumatic experiences, combined with threats of press exposure or career damage, create intense psychological pressure.

“Parliamentary work is stressful. For some, drinking at the end of the day became a way to cope,” Erlandsen noted. The only colleagues who truly understand these unique pressures are fellow parliamentary workers, and their primary meeting place for decompression remains the bars, making alcohol in the parliamentary workplace seem like the natural response to job-related trauma.

Career Advancement Depends on Drinking Culture

The average Parliamentary Assistant serves just two years, creating intense pressure to network rapidly. During this brief window, refusing invitations from MPs, Lords, journalists, or potential employers carries significant career consequences.

When lobbying agencies or businesses host networking events, the pressure intensifies. “If an MP or staffer or a Lord invites you for drinks, if a lobbying agency or a business you’d be keen to work for one day is holding an event, it adds an extra pressure to say no,” Erlandsen explained.

This drinking environment systematically excludes non-drinkers from career-critical opportunities. Those who abstained reported “feelings of exclusion (whether intentionally or unintentionally),” whilst alcohol in the parliamentary workplace became synonymous with professional advancement and insider knowledge.

Corporate Exploitation of Parliamentary Drinking Culture

Political party conferences demonstrate how external organisations exploit Westminster’s established patterns around alcohol in the parliamentary workplace for lobbying purposes. Despite a decade passing since Erlandsen first attended such events as a young staffer, little has changed in terms of alcohol prominence and the absence of meaningful alternatives.

Staffers reported feeling pressured to attend events where heavy drinking was normalised and alcohol-free options remained scarce. Corporate event organisers routinely promoted gatherings through parliamentary WhatsApp groups by emphasising free alcohol provision, further entrenching the drinking environment as a professional necessity.

Inadequate Support Systems Compound Problems

Perhaps most concerning is Parliament’s failure to provide appropriate support mechanisms for staff struggling with alcohol-related issues. Unlike MPs, parliamentary staff lack access to independent HR advice, forcing them to approach their elected official bosses with personal problems – a prospect many find impossible given the potential for media exposure.

The stigma surrounding alcohol problems intensifies within Parliament, where staff represent elected officials and any personal issues risk becoming public scandals. Erlandsen’s own experience with parliamentary wellbeing services proved woefully inadequate, with a telephone counsellor suggesting she resume drinking to manage anxiety despite knowing her history of alcohol dependence.

This situation demonstrates how alcohol in the parliamentary workplace creates unique barriers to seeking help, as the intersection of political careers and personal struggles generates additional layers of complexity not found in typical employment settings.

Institutional Change Required

The evidence presented to the All-Party Parliamentary Group underscores the need for comprehensive reform of Westminster’s approach to alcohol in the parliamentary workplace. Recent polling by Alcohol Change UK found that only 16% of MPs consider the House of Commons highly supportive regarding alcohol issues, whilst the Modernisation Committee has already raised concerns about drinking within Parliament.

The Institute of Alcohol Studies plans to publish a detailed report on parliamentary drinking later this year, adding to growing calls for institutional change. However, Erlandsen’s testimony suggests that addressing this drinking environment requires more than policy adjustments – it demands a fundamental shift in Westminster’s professional culture.

“Parliament was an alcohol-soaked environment where it was possible, permissible and acceptable to drink at any time of day or night,” Erlandsen concluded. “The parliamentary workplace doesn’t cause alcohol dependence, but it does fuel it.”

With national efforts to address alcohol-related harm gaining momentum, Westminster faces pressure to lead by example rather than perpetuate harmful workplace cultures that compromise both professional standards and individual wellbeing. The question now is whether Parliament will address the pervasive issues surrounding alcohol in the parliamentary workplace and create a more inclusive, healthy, and professional environment for all who work within its walls.

Source: dbrecoveryresources