A husband has blamed the Westminster drink culture for the death of his wife, a former MP. Ten years ago Fiona Jones was one of Blair’s Babes, but after losing her seat and becoming embroiled in allegations of election fraud, of which she was eventually cleared, and being unable to find new work, she turned increasingly to drink.
Chris Jones says his wife hardly drank before she became elected, that if she had not become an MP, she would still be here today. The tipping point came after she lost her seat in 2001:
“She was devastated. She took to her bed and drank more and more. She’d pass out then decide to sort herself out. She went for interviews but nobody wanted her. Then she’d drink again.
“She hardly drank at all before she was elected but the Commons has a boozing culture that people should know about.”
His wife refused to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for fear of being recognised. I am assuming there was no support available at Westminster.
“As the pressures grew, so did her drinking and I’m angry with the Labour Party for not supporting her when she needed them. There are several bars in the Houses of Parliament open for 24 hours.
“Fiona would go to them with the others to wait to vote. It’s seen as a place to drink as well as conduct business. Soon she’d gone from the occasional glass of wine to much heavier drinking. At home she drank vodka to hide the smell from the children but down there she drank whisky because nobody cared if she drank.”
This is a very sad and cautionary tale, I wonder if the disturbing questions it raises about alcohol abuse will be followed up, if other politicians with a drink problem feel they can’t turn to anyone for help because of their high profile position, the fear of being recognised and the stigma that goes with admitting a drink problem.
And tragically she has left two sons around the same age of mine, 17 and 14, who witnessed her spiralling decline.
I know the devastation caused by drink problems, how it changes a person’s character, that you cannot force someone to seek help if they don’t want it, my friend Sue died last week as a result of her addiction.
These stories will undoubtedly sadden Veronica Callanan, a reformed alcoholic, who runs a private clinic in Cambridge. She is inspirational proof that it can be overcome, I am meeting her later this week to discuss how we can campaign on these issues. Maybe we should start at Westminster…
Update: 7th February, Alice Miles writes about this too in today’s Times. And it seems more people care about Fiona now she is dead than when she was alive. And Guardian Unlimited too.
A very sad and disturbing story. All the help is there for these people BUT sadly they have to want the help in the first place….
i can never understand why people have such a fear of the residential treatment. They should be proud they took that step not ashamed .
The Veronica Callanan clinic is only an option for the more better off in the world. Many alcoholics will not have this kind of money…
Sally, Veronica offers a 10 week non-residential programme and is affordable, she is definitely worth checking out. I know how committed and passionate she is about her work. And she has experienced those lowest depths of despair, she has been right in the gutter, she knows what it is like.
Ellee,
I have checked her out and know what her charges are, belive me that is a small fortune to alot of people…
The news on both deaths is very sad. I am fight alcohol myself, so I know what it’s like.
*fighting
This is a sad story and I agree with the sentiments expressed.
On a different tangent; I have always felt it a disgrace that so much of our legislation and public business is voted/decided by inebirated people.
This culture is long gone from the provate sector.
A sad account indeed. I found that dependence was creeping up on me in the mid-90’s when I went through a rough patch and fortunately recognised it in time.
Poor woman and I am so sorry about your friend sue, too, Ellee. I agree with Sally: the addicted person has to WANT to overcome the problem before anyone can help them but if you operate in a drink culture it is very, very hard. I also agree with Sally that those prices are out of many people’s reach. There is the AA, of course, and they do wonderful work but there is the fear of being recognised.
As you may have seen Ellee I have also blogged on this….it is time something was done about it.
Ellee – I think Parliament would be an excellent place to start a campaign. You should also target the Portman Group which is funded by the drinks industry in part to work with politicians to avoid legislation. They promote responsible drinking – so what better place to start than with parliamentarians.
Sorry to hear about your friend, Sue.
Ellee really touching story- I’m very sorry for your friend and for the MP.
Sorry to hear about your friend Ellee. Its wierd how we get addicted to things that we know are bad for us, especially when things are going bad in our lives anyway. Like others here, I’ve been close to dependence a couple of times in my life.
Condolences on the death of your friend, Ellee. Why on earth does Westminster need so many bars? I am not sure that parliament buildings in other countries have bars…
I have a different perspective. I have worked in Westminster in my time and have done political lobbying, and have found it perfectly acceptable to say that actually I dont want beer or wine but I would prefer a diet coke.
Is it a Westminster drink cultire or just a country wide one? When I say I dont want a drink some ask well have a little one.
Would you ask a vegetarian… well just have a small steak, oh go on maybe a sausage??
As I stated in my post, I think Westminster is simply a microcosm on this issue.
Part of the problem here tho, is the Whips keeping MP’s there for key votes, and the bars are where many of them wait around and if you don’t like being on your own and happen to be a social animal, then…
Personally, like Jonathan I would have no problem ordering a coke, esp as I am very strict with myself about my alcohol intake, but many people aren’t like that and drink so as not to stand out.
I am afraid the “I will be recognized” is not really a sound reason. There are people in the top levels of government who attend AA. I myself attended Alanon (for people who have family members or close friends dealing with abuse issues). I spent quite awhile arguing with myself about ‘being recognized’ only to finally walk into a room to see several faces belonging to people who are properly famous not ‘vaguely recognizable to some’ like myself. AA is very commonly discussed and attended by many at Westminster so we can blame them for many things but keeping people away from AA is not one of them. If you don’t go it is because you are keeping yourself away.
So sorry about your friend. When things go wrong in our life, it is so easy to turn to something which we think is going to ease the stress…it doesn’t it causes more problems.
Yes, I join the voices above in offering condolences. The trouble with the MP bars is that they are the logical and convivial places to do business and the culture is a product of the people who over-use them. It’s a reflection on the peculiar stress of the job too. I’ve known some parliamentarians and the story is the same.
Didn’t initially see Paul Burgin’s comment but that was basically what I was trying to say. doesn’t help any though, I know that, Ellee. Hopefully some sort of campaign can be got up.
Elle, I’m very sorry to hear about your friend.
We don’t tolerate weakness or excuse failure in our MPs. And this is perhaps part of the cause of this sad story.
Many people see the way MP’s careers end and decide to steer wide. Perhaps this is a part of the reason for fewer women candidates coming forward – they’ve worked this out already. What will we be left with ?
Dear Ellee
Is there anything that we can do (quietly) for the Family, which is just over the border of (per Jasne Austen) the best of Counties
Your obedient servant etc
G Eagle
Hi Ellee, Firstly, well done for highlighting this issue, it very, very sad and unfortunately not uncommon, i have lost clients and friends who have been unwilling or unable to get the help they need. This is what makes the whole situation so tragic is that there really is a way out for any one struggling with alcohol problems or indeed alcoholism. I was an active alcoholic for 12 years, my life was crumbling around me and i was slowly dying from the inside, i met someone who changed my life and now my life is unrecognisable (please read my story at http://www.veronicacallanan.com). I now have the honour of working with others who suffer from the same problems i did. There is actually a lot of help out there if people look for it, Alcoholics Anonymous is a free self-help group and there are other free state funded services. I work in private practice and run a 10-week programme, although it may seem expensive to some people it usually works out to be the same amount people are spending on booze (£150), i also find that when people pay for a service they value it a lot more and actually tend to do better than when it is given to them free by the state. For people who are not yet able to see a specialist or have limited resources i also have an on-line programme at http://www.beataddictionnow.com that is very in-expensive. The bottom line for me is i want as many people to know that they don’t have to settle for 50% living, there IS a solution to the problem of alcoholism, we just need to spend a lot more time educating the public about this.
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