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£90,000 worth of champagne ..

(33 Posts)
Galaxy Tue 02-Jan-24 12:14:13

There are much more expensive bottles of champagne available in Tesco. I dont think Tesco should be abolished. There are many issues with regard to the HOL this isnt one of them.

MaizieD Tue 02-Jan-24 12:09:13

More detail in this Guardian article and I still can't get excited about it, despite being a Guardian reader...

www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/02/champagne-worth-90000-bought-in-house-of-lords-last-year-foi-data-shows

25Avalon Tue 02-Jan-24 11:41:59

I can think of many reasons to reform or even abolish the HOL but this is not one of them. Are we saying if you can afford to spend £57 on a bottle of champagne you can’t sit in the HOL? A spurious argument. We would have nobody in the upper house and surely it’s a free country to spend your money how you wish, provided as MaizieD says it’s not being subsidised from public funds? ( They probably do get the champagne cheaper by buying in bulk from the wholesaler)

Visgir1 Tue 02-Jan-24 11:40:40

Surely they profit on the bottles of Champagne and serveral other items in the gift shop.
And yes I have paid over £57 for champagne.

RosiesMaw Tue 02-Jan-24 11:34:43

Sounds more than a bit dog in the manger to me!

MaizieD Tue 02-Jan-24 11:28:37

Quite honestly I cannot get in the least bit excited by this. If tourists and members of the Lords want to buy champagne at £57 per bottle it's entirely their own affair and their money that they are spending.

I don't see it as a exceptional quantity, either. Average sales of 5 bottles per day over a year?

OTOH, if the price of this fizz is being subsidised in some way from the public purse so that Lords can buy decent champagne cheaply then it would be a bit of a scandal.

Why on earth selling champagne in the gift shop should be grounds for abolition of the Lords is a bit of a mystery.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 02-Jan-24 11:22:50

The upper house is a very useful moderator. Reform, yes - abolition, no. If people want to buy Champagne, let them. The quantity of Champagne purchased is not a valid indicator of the value or otherwise of the existence of the HoL.

CvD66 Tue 02-Jan-24 10:54:46

..bought in the House of Lords last year (FOI details obtained). While it is claimed that this was mostly bought by tourists, sadly no figures were given to support this. Would you pay £57 for a bottle of champagne in the gift shop? It cannot be ignored that this is an exceptional quantity of champagne = 1589 bottles! Given the latest appointments (particularly from the 45 day PM Liz Truss) is this institution in need of reform or even better, abolishment?