COMPLAINTS about the quality of sandwiches and wine subsidised by the taxpayer in exclusive cafeterias and bars for members of the House of Lords have been revealed.
Letters sent from unelected members of Westminster’s upper house have been published and show peers whinging about the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as well as prawn and crayfish salads on offer.
One peer complained: “There are only so many smoked salmon or prawn and crayfish salads one can take week after week.
“Both the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc are really poor quality... Can something be done?”
The letters were sent over a period of three years and were obtained by the investigative website openDemocracy.
Taxpayers have had to foot the £25 million bill to keep prices in Westminster’s exclusive bars and restaurants low over the past three years.
One sent an email with the subject line: “No Lunch”. The sender – who the site has kept anonymous – grumbled they had arrived at a restaurant in Parliament only to find “very little to eat other than a box of 2 pre-packed salads”.
They added: “My lunch today now consists of a packet of crisps and a packet of Maltesers with an apple.”
Another wrote a letter with a list of gripes which included questioning why there was “so much lettuce” in the sandwiches and querying why there was no longer an option for granary bread. It was sent to the Lord Speaker as well as the chief whips of all the main political parties.
Another complained the price of the smoked salmon “seems extortionate” even though its price is artificially lowered by the taxpayer subsidy.
Another complained about the members-only Barry Room restaurant – which has received £1.1m in subsidies since 2019 – saying it had become “prohibitively expensive without a proportionate increase in quality”.
They added the Barry Room omelette had become “a tad monotonous!”
Prices in Westminster hospitality venues are far lower than they are just yards away in central London.
MPs could buy a pint of lager for just £3.45 in Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar, compared with the average price of £4.84.
OpenDemocracy also reported that prices in parliamentary facilities had actually fallen in recent years with the average cost of food in the Members’ Dining Room falling by more than £1 between 2018 and 2021.
A spokesperson for the House of Lords told the site: “The unpredictable nature of sittings of the Lords and periods where the House isn’t sitting means that revenue is not generated day in, day out, so a subsidy is unavoidable.
"The catering and retail service’s income plummeted during the pandemic as most venues closed and external banqueting was cancelled.
“We also pay all our staff at least the London Living Wage and provide workplace pensions to our catering staff. We are proud to do so, but it means our costs are higher than some commercial restaurants.
“Lots of people, not just members of the Lords, use the catering facilities. This includes visitors, staff members, journalists and police officers.”
