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British lawmakers demand cheaper alcohol at parliamentary bars

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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Taxpayer advocates have complained about waste and abuse in Washington, D.C., but across the Atlantic, British lawmakers are arguing that they should have cheaper alcohol in their parliamentary pubs.

British taxpayers already subsidize the food and drinks of Members of Parliament to the tune of 5.8 million pounds per year, but now British MPs want to link the prices of drinks to pubs outside of central London to make them cheaper.

MPs began calling for cheaper alcohol after the catering managers for the House of Commons made a request to raise food prices for the first time in three years, due to increasing costs.

There were previously plans to set a minimum price for drinks at parliamentary pubs, but those plans were abandoned and critics argued that “minimum pricing would unfairly punish responsible drinkers by raising the cost of wine, beer and spirits,” The Telegraph reports.

The Telegraph reports that alcohol prices at the four Palace of Westminster bars are already kept lower than nearby pubs.

England also subsidizes student pubs on college campuses.

The demands have not gone without criticism: “Politicians could not be more out of touch in demanding a bigger subsidy for their booze and meals,” said TaxPayers’ Alliance Chief Executive Matthew Sinclair.

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