Tory MP 'too drunk to vote' after marathon debate at House of Commons
Jul 12 2010 By Jack Mathieson
A TORY got too drunk to vote as MPs enjoyed a marathon booze-up during the Commons debate on the bloodbath budget which will leave millions on the breadline.
Shamed Mark Reckless, who fell to the floor of one bar, compared the wait for the early morning vote to a "lock-in".
Other members were accused of prolonging the debate so they could qualify for hefty overnight hotel allowances.
Last Tuesday night 's debate saw taxpayer-subsidised Commons bars enjoy record takings as dozens of MPs and their aides partied for six hours.
One female MP claimed the chamber and voting lobbies "stank of booze and sweat".
Witnesses claim former banker Reckless, Tory MP for Rochester, Kent, struggled to open a bar door.
Reckless, an MP for just two months, yesterday said he was "very embarrassed".
He added: "It was a mistake I will not repeat. I've learned my lesson.
"It was a long day and I'd had a very early breakfast meeting."
The 39-year-old admitted he was drunk but said he could not remember what he had been drinking - or how much.
He added: "I normally have one or two and know when to stop. I don't know what happened. I don't remember falling over."
The Oxford graduate, who was later bundled into a taxi home, claimed strict instructions from party whips to be at the vote made it "a bit like a lock-in".
He claimed he decided not to take part in the 2.07am vote because of his drunken state.
But other MPs claim he was asleep on the terrace when the vote took place.
Meanwhile, another new Tory, Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, was reportedly involved in an exchange with a Commons doorkeeper.
Murray, 54, said: "I'd had a couple of glasses of wine on the terrace but I wasn't rude to anybody. There is a lesson to be learned from this - you don't drink at all on the terrace."
A Tory official apologised to the doorkeeper the next day.
The debate triggered for the first time a new rule that entitles MPs to claim up to £130 for a hotel room if a session runs beyond 1am.
Morecambe Tory MP David Morris accused colleagues of delaying proceedings purposely and claimed the cost of keeping the house open till nearly 3am would cost more than £200,000.
He said: "These activities waste taxpayers' money. There was no justification to drag this debate out beyond 2am."
Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The debate was an unedifying display of what happens when politicians and subsidised alcohol come together."
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