Almost £90,000 worth of champagne was bought for events within the House of Lords last year and from its gift shop, according to new figures, the highest level for five years.
Details of the sales – equating to 1,589 bottles – were obtained by the Scottish National party, which claimed this proved the Lords was “archaic and out of touch” at the time of a raging cost of living crisis.
“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,” said Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP for Edinburgh East.
Figures released after a freedom of information request showed that, over the course of the year, 1,589 bottles of champagne were bought at a total cost of £88,987 – about £56 each. The cost is up slightly from the 2022 total, when 1,580 bottles were sold at a cost of £85,462.
The SNP has no representatives in the House of Lords because of its opposition to the unelected second chamber.
“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,” added Sheppard.
“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 spokesperson for the House of Lords said that all alcohol, including champagne, sold in the House of Lords was sold at a profit.
“Most of the champagne sold by the House of Lords is bought by visitors in the gift shop and consumed away from parliament by members of the public, or sold at banqueting events to organisations or individuals hosting the event in the House of Lords,” the spokesperson added. “It is not paid for by the taxpayer.”
