Unelected Lords drank 1,589 of bottles of champagne in 2023 – as the Westminster-made cost of living crisis ravaged household finances.
Figures revealed under Freedom of Information show that almost £90,000 worth of champagne was purchased for events within the House of Lords in 2023 – the most of the past five years.
Commenting, Tommy Sheppard MP said:
“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.
“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.
“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.
“It’s beyond clear the House of Lords is archaic and out of touch – but it forms just one small part of a wider Westminster institution that doesn’t have the best interests of the people of Scotland in mind.
“The House of Lords should be abolished, but we should also be free to pursue an alternative from Westminster as a whole as we set up an independent country with a Parliament that puts the people of Scotland first.”
