Cost of Politics




Despite all the talk from from political leaders about 'cutting the cost of politics', the Palace of Westminster continues to receive a huge public subsidy of £6 million a year to help  meet the cost of its exclusive bars and restaurants - which are not open to the general public, of course. 


Parliament bars and restaurants received £6m of public money


Accounts show overall costs for House of Commons catering services fell but rose for Lords

Press Association - The Guardian

Westminster aims to bring public costs down to £3m by 2016.. Photograph: Jonathan Shock/Alamy

The taxpayer subsidised parliament's exclusive bars and restaurants to the tune of £6m last year.

While costs fell in the House of Commons after a series of revenue-raising measures, costs at the Lords went up.

Usually the Commons publishes figures that offset sales of souvenirs and gifts against spending on its catering service. But in response to a freedom of information request, the authorities revealed that without that income the operation ran a deficit of £4.5m in 2013-14 – down from £4.9m the previous year.

Meanwhile, the House of Lords' annual accounts showed that the net cost of its catering and retail outlets rose by around £150,000 to £1.45m. Excluding profits from banqueting functions and retail sales, the overall bill was some £2.44m – up from £2.3m in 2012-13.

A Commons spokeswoman said: "Much of the net cost to the House arises because of the irregular hours and unpredictability of parliamentary business.

"Food and drink prices are regularly reviewed and set at levels benchmarked against similar outlets outside the House. The costs to the House have been reduced since 2003. We are determined to reduce costs further and have a target of £3m for 2015-16."


Give to the Needy! (January 27th 2012)



While I'm in the mood for poking a bit of fun at MPs - I thought I'd share with readers one of the great mysteries of our time.

The fact that MPs in the House of Commons enjoy a public subsidy of £5.8 million a every year - for what amounts to their staff canteen.

Now I'm sure there's lots of good reasons for trying to keep MPs in the building - some of them might get lost if they were to venture out into the streets of London - looking for a great meal deal at Subway.

So they're encouraged to stay within the Palace of Westminster with some bargain basement prices - which are not on offer to the ordinary man or woman in the street.

For example:

£2.60 for a pint of beer
£2.35 for a glass of wine
£1.40 to a drink of Lucozade - recently increased from 80p

£2.05 for a lunch dish of braised pork with black pudding bonbon
£2.70 for an apple salad
£4.15 for halibut and soft boiled quail egg with carrot dressing

£7.80 for a rib-eye steak with hand cut chips and béarnaise sauce
£6.75 for haddock and leek fish cakes with tomato and dill cream
£6.75 for a chickpea and lentil curry with red onion fritter

£2.05 for a chocolate and orange torte
£2.05 for a serving of fresh fruit salad
£2.05 for home-made ice creams and sorbets
£3.10 for a selection of fine cheeses and biscuits

Now I'm all in favour of good tasty food being served up to our public servants.

But what I don't get is why it should be subsidised at taxpayers' expense - especially during these straitened times.

Why at £5.8 million every year - the subsidy accepted by our MPs amounts to six times the bonus paid to the RBS boss - Stephen Hester.

Which is getting lots of people very worked up - according to the news media earlier today.

Strange - don't you think?

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