Neil Coyle “may not have survived” if he had carried on drinking, the Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP has said, in an open and frank statement about his alcohol problem.
In a written statement shared with the News, Coyle opened up about his alcohol problem that saw him drinking twelve pints a day, five times a week.
“Health tests done to check for any long-term damage revealed my heart was beating so fast and irregularly I was at significant risk of a stroke,” he said. “The truth is, if I’d continued drinking, I may not have survived and that is a very scary thought with a six-year-old daughter.”
He said he had stopped drinking nineteen weeks ago – in early March – “with the help of a strong network of professionals and friends who have been crucial”. He has lost two stone in the four months since giving up.
Coyle, 43, was suspended from the Labour Party in February this year after an alleged racist comments made to a Westminster journalist of Chinese descent in a parliamentary bar. He has since apologised.
Coyle said in his statement on Tuesday (July 7) that his drinking “undoubtedly affected my demeanour and attitude and contributed to my own suspension from the Labour Party earlier this year,” adding that alcohol is not an excuse for bad behaviour.
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And drinking is “deeply, culturally” ingrained into life in the houses of Parliament, Coyle said.
“It is amazing how routine it is now to have to decline drinks in Westminster as well as through my committee work and locally.
“Often, people are trying to be nice but do not always accept a refusal to drink. I have discovered that teetotal life is like constantly running into Mrs Doyles from Father Ted: go on, go on, go on; you will, you will, you will! It is strange to have to repeatedly decline alcohol.” He added that avoiding being around people drinking is “impossible” in Parliament, which has eight bars.
Coyle said that he began drinking more and more because of the stress of working as an MP, including his public spats with then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The death of his father and one of his best friends within six weeks of each other also “took their toll”.
Coyle said that he would continue to champion the Bermondsey beer mile, as well as co-chairing a parliamentary group relating to the wines and spirits industry. “Given our local community, alcohol will always feature somewhere in my work, just not in my system!”
Coyle continued: “I write in the hope that anyone declining a drink, for whatever reason, will not be pressed further but have their choice respected. If you offer someone a pint and they say no, please accept their refusal. I also write in the hope that others in need of help can reach out – not necessarily to me, but to the authorities, to friends or professionals.
“There is support available, in confidence and tailored to give the best chance of success. It is possible to beat a dependency. I am optimistic I am on my way to achieving just that.”
Neil Coyle’s statement in full
Westminster drinking culture could have killed me
It is 19 weeks since I stopped drinking. I am lucky to have been supported by a strong network of professionals and friends who have been crucial. Support has included doctors and medication to handle the side effects of ending what had become a dependency. I have never talked publicly about this and inevitably putting it in writing brings with it a sense of shame and will, no doubt, become troll-fodder for the anonymous abusers who plague social media.
By the time I stopped, I was routinely drinking a dozen or more pints an evening, five days a week. The volume meant I could not stop ‘cold turkey’ but had to reduce gradually. Health tests done to check for any long-term damage revealed my heart was beating so fast and irregularly I was at significant risk of a stroke. The truth is, if I’d continued drinking, I may not have survived and that is a very scary thought with a six-year-old daughter.
Drinking undoubtedly affected my demeanour and attitude and contributed to my own suspension from the Labour Party earlier this year. The investigation linked to the suspension means I’m prohibited from speaking publicly or face sanctions, but I’ve apologised for inappropriate language and behaviour and will continue to do so. It is very strange to be indebted to some of those involved who may have ultimately saved my life.
Drinking in no way excuses bad behaviour, but it should not take a public scandal before someone is able to access help to stop drinking, especially given alcohol is everywhere in Westminster. When first elected in 2015, I’d have occasional drinks after work but this built up over time as stress and capacity rose. The constant battles within Labour and attacks on me from the former leader’s cronies as well as a major trade union leader for daring to speak out against antisemitism, all contributed and losing my dad and a close friend within six weeks last year took their toll.
The multiple bars inside Parliament are also part of the picture. But it is amazing how routine it is now to have to decline drinks in Westminster as well as through my committee work and locally. Often, people are trying to be nice but do not always accept a refusal to drink. I have discovered that teetotal life is like constantly running into Mrs Doyles from Father Ted: go on, go on, go on; you will, you will, you will! It is strange to have to repeatedly decline alcohol and it is surprising how deeply, culturally ingrained drinking is. I only drank after work, but wine is freely available at lunchtime receptions and throughout the day.
The advice from professionals in stopping drinking is to avoid alcohol altogether, but this is impossible in Parliament and I refuse to allow stopping drinking preventing me from doing my job. I’ll also continue to speak my mind and always put constituents before Party or other interests, as I have shown since 2015 in challenging the Corbyn cult’s nonsense for example.
I’m proud to serve the Bermondsey beer mile and such a brilliant hospitality sector in Southwark. I still co-chair the Wine and Spirits Parliamentary Group as their trade federation is based locally and am proud of the campaign wins we have achieved together to ensure wine buyers weren’t hit by needless new taxes post-Brexit. Given our local community, alcohol will always feature somewhere in my work, just not in my system!
I write in the hope that anyone declining a drink, for whatever reason, will not be pressed further but have their choice respected. If you offer someone a pint and they say no, please accept their refusal. I also write in the hope that others in need of help can reach out – not necessarily to me, but to the authorities, to friends or professionals.
There is support available, in confidence and tailored to give the best chance of success. It is possible to beat a dependency. I am optimistic I am on my way to achieving just that.