Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Lords should be able to drink the highest quality champagne to have 'some privilege of peerage' Lords should drink the best champagne while in Parliament because they deserve to have 'some privilege of peerage', according to a wealthy Tory MP. Jacob Rees-Mogg, widely regarded as the poshest man in politics, told a Commons debate that peers 'ought to drink the highest quality' of bubbly available. The North East Somerset MP made the comments after reports that Lords refused to share catering services with MPs because they were worried about the quality of champagne. Using the comments to urge MPs to be cautious about reforming the unelected House of Lords, Mr Rees-Mogg said the story - which claimed that plans to merge bars and restaurants in both houses were jettisoned over the issue - had become 'legendary if not mythical'. He said: 'Though, as I understand it, the champagne story turned out to be somewhat legendary if not mythical, and anyway I think their lordships ought to drink the highest quality of champagne. 'If, after all, you are a Lord, you must have some privilege of peerage. 'Although that may have been legendary if not mythical, actually the need to maintain their independence because they do not want to be a subsidiary chamber, they are a second chamber, the second chamber, but not a subsidiary chamber.' The champagne claims were made last month before a committee of MPs by Sir Malcolm Jack, a former clerk of the House of Commons. He told them: 'The person in charge of catering came with proposals to provide a joint catering service, and it was eventually thrown out in the House of Lords because the Lords feared that the quality of champagne would not be as good if they chose a joint service.' At the time, former Labour Cabinet minister Jack Straw, chairman of the Commons governance committee, was taken aback by the claim and asked: 'Did you make that up? Is that true?' to which Sir Malcom replied 'Yes'. The champagne row caused such a storm that MPs raised it again at a later hearing of the committee, as they interviewed Lord Rogers, who stood down as Clerk of the Commons last year. But Lord Sewel, chair of committees, later hit back at the suggestion. He said it was 'inaccurate' to suggest the Commons had put forward a plan for a joint catering service, which had been rejected by the Lords. He also branded claims the the House had a champagne fund as 'preposterous', saying it was sold at a profit and had helped to cut the cost of catering services. Since 2010 the House of Lords has bought in more than 17,000 bottles of champagne at a cost of £265,770. It is the equivalent of five bottles each for every peer. The former Etonian (pictured left in 2011 and right as a 12-year-old reading the Financial Times) is perhaps most famous for canvassing with his Nanny in a Mercedes when standing election in Fife . Reiterating his point that the chamber must remain an independent second chamber, rather than becoming a subsidiary one, Mr Rees-Mogg added: 'I quite understand why their lordships are very nervous about this place trying to grab power from it. 'If I were in that place rather than in this place I would take the same view that the House of Commons by virtue of ultimately controlling the purse strings, by having the democratic mandate, is always in a position to peer over at what their lordships are doing.' Mr Rees-Mogg, a former Etonian, is well-known for his outlandish comments and bizarre anecdotes about his privileged background. He once casually dropped the word ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ into a debate on the pay of EU staff and also admitted to reading the Financial Times at the age of eight. At 11, he turned a £50 inheritance into £3,500 on the stock market. He once boasted that he would be ‘a millionaire at 20, a multi-millionaire at 40 and Prime Minister at 70, when I’ve made enough money to be able to afford to waste some on politics’. The North East Somerset MP made the comments amid claims that Lords refused to share catering services with MPs because they were worried about having to drink cheap bubbly (file picture) But the MP is perhaps most famous for  once campaigning with his nanny in a plush car when standing for election in Fife in 1997. Claims that Mr Rees-Mogg toured the area in a Bentley had dogged the MP since he stood in the Labour stronghold   - in which he got just nine per cent. But he later denied it was a Bentley, saying: 'Oh, no. That was wrong. Well, the nanny bit is right. Of course she came canvassing; she’s part of the family after all — she’s been with us 47 years. 'But we took my mother’s Mercedes Estate. I don’t think a Bentley’s a suitable campaigning car. As much as anything it was the petrol consumption: six miles to the gallon.' Last year, Mr Rees-Mogg also sparked outrage by branding the huge bill for taxpayer-funded political portraits as 'chicken feed'. The spending spree since 1995 included £11,750 for an apparently topless painting of Labour’s Diane Abbott – the same amount as was spent on a full-sized statue of Baroness Thatcher. Mr Rees-Mogg called the claims 'legendary if not mythical'. The House of Lords always insisted that champagne was not the deal breaker (file picture) Other works included an £11,750 portrait of former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett, a £10,000 portrait of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, an £8,000 painting of Kenneth Clarke and a £4,000 oil painting of Foreign Secretary William Hague. But Mr Rees-Mogg, a member of the committee which commissions paintings, photographs and sculptures of MPs and peers, said in January last year that the average £10,000 for each artwork was just a fraction of the overall cost of running Parliament. He said: 'I’m all for saving money, saving money right, left and centre, but this is chicken feed. 'It’s about £10,000 a year on administrative costs of the House of Commons of £200m. It hardly even ranks as chicken feed.' The former investment banker also admitted that his nanny and maid took turns to stand behind him, shielding his neck from the sun with a book, at the exclusive Glyndebourne music festival. He once also had a private toilet reserved for himself and King Juan Carlos of Spain at Claridge's. He explained: 'You can't have too many people using a special loo or it's no longer special – but it's now a disabled loo, so anyone can use it.' The history buff also admitted changing the last four digits of his phone number to 1649, the year King Charles I was executed, to make easier for him to remember. Mr Rees-Mogg's father, William Rees-Mogg, was himself a peer. A former editor of the Times, Lord Rees-Mogg died in 2012 aged 84 from oesophageal cancer. He received a life peerage in 1988 and sat as a cross-bencher, although he had twice in the 1950s stood for Parliament as a Conservative.
North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg made comments during debate .
Comes after peers allegedly rejected plan to merge catering with Commons .
Reports said Lords feared they would have to start drinking cheap bubbly .
Former Etonian is widely-regarded as one of the poshest men in politics .
Once canvassed with his nanny in Mercedes when standing election in Fife .
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Lords should be able to drink the highest quality champagne to have 'some privilege of peerage' Lords should drink the best champagne while in Parliament because they deserve to have 'some privilege of peerage', according to a wealthy Tory MP. Jacob Rees-Mogg, widely regarded as the poshest man in politics, told a Commons debate that peers 'ought to drink the highest quality' of bubbly available. The North East Somerset MP made the comments after reports that Lords refused to share catering services with MPs because they were worried about the quality of champagne. Using the comments to urge MPs to be cautious about reforming the unelected House of Lords, Mr Rees-Mogg said the story - which claimed that plans to merge bars and restaurants in both houses were jettisoned over the issue - had become 'legendary if not mythical'. He said: 'Though, as I understand it, the champagne story turned out to be somewhat legendary if not mythical, and anyway I think their lordships ought to drink the highest quality of champagne. 'If, after all, you are a Lord, you must have some privilege of peerage. 'Although that may have been legendary if not mythical, actually the need to maintain their independence because they do not want to be a subsidiary chamber, they are a second chamber, the second chamber, but not a subsidiary chamber.' The champagne claims were made last month before a committee of MPs by Sir Malcolm Jack, a former clerk of the House of Commons. He told them: 'The person in charge of catering came with proposals to provide a joint catering service, and it was eventually thrown out in the House of Lords because the Lords feared that the quality of champagne would not be as good if they chose a joint service.' At the time, former Labour Cabinet minister Jack Straw, chairman of the Commons governance committee, was taken aback by the claim and asked: 'Did you make that up? Is that true?' to which Sir Malcom replied 'Yes'. The champagne row caused such a storm that MPs raised it again at a later hearing of the committee, as they interviewed Lord Rogers, who stood down as Clerk of the Commons last year. But Lord Sewel, chair of committees, later hit back at the suggestion. He said it was 'inaccurate' to suggest the Commons had put forward a plan for a joint catering service, which had been rejected by the Lords. He also branded claims the the House had a champagne fund as 'preposterous', saying it was sold at a profit and had helped to cut the cost of catering services. Since 2010 the House of Lords has bought in more than 17,000 bottles of champagne at a cost of £265,770. It is the equivalent of five bottles each for every peer. The former Etonian (pictured left in 2011 and right as a 12-year-old reading the Financial Times) is perhaps most famous for canvassing with his Nanny in a Mercedes when standing election in Fife . Reiterating his point that the chamber must remain an independent second chamber, rather than becoming a subsidiary one, Mr Rees-Mogg added: 'I quite understand why their lordships are very nervous about this place trying to grab power from it. 'If I were in that place rather than in this place I would take the same view that the House of Commons by virtue of ultimately controlling the purse strings, by having the democratic mandate, is always in a position to peer over at what their lordships are doing.' Mr Rees-Mogg, a former Etonian, is well-known for his outlandish comments and bizarre anecdotes about his privileged background. He once casually dropped the word ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ into a debate on the pay of EU staff and also admitted to reading the Financial Times at the age of eight. At 11, he turned a £50 inheritance into £3,500 on the stock market. He once boasted that he would be ‘a millionaire at 20, a multi-millionaire at 40 and Prime Minister at 70, when I’ve made enough money to be able to afford to waste some on politics’. The North East Somerset MP made the comments amid claims that Lords refused to share catering services with MPs because they were worried about having to drink cheap bubbly (file picture) But the MP is perhaps most famous for  once campaigning with his nanny in a plush car when standing for election in Fife in 1997. Claims that Mr Rees-Mogg toured the area in a Bentley had dogged the MP since he stood in the Labour stronghold   - in which he got just nine per cent. But he later denied it was a Bentley, saying: 'Oh, no. That was wrong. Well, the nanny bit is right. Of course she came canvassing; she’s part of the family after all — she’s been with us 47 years. 'But we took my mother’s Mercedes Estate. I don’t think a Bentley’s a suitable campaigning car. As much as anything it was the petrol consumption: six miles to the gallon.' Last year, Mr Rees-Mogg also sparked outrage by branding the huge bill for taxpayer-funded political portraits as 'chicken feed'. The spending spree since 1995 included £11,750 for an apparently topless painting of Labour’s Diane Abbott – the same amount as was spent on a full-sized statue of Baroness Thatcher. Mr Rees-Mogg called the claims 'legendary if not mythical'. The House of Lords always insisted that champagne was not the deal breaker (file picture) Other works included an £11,750 portrait of former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett, a £10,000 portrait of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, an £8,000 painting of Kenneth Clarke and a £4,000 oil painting of Foreign Secretary William Hague. But Mr Rees-Mogg, a member of the committee which commissions paintings, photographs and sculptures of MPs and peers, said in January last year that the average £10,000 for each artwork was just a fraction of the overall cost of running Parliament. He said: 'I’m all for saving money, saving money right, left and centre, but this is chicken feed. 'It’s about £10,000 a year on administrative costs of the House of Commons of £200m. It hardly even ranks as chicken feed.' The former investment banker also admitted that his nanny and maid took turns to stand behind him, shielding his neck from the sun with a book, at the exclusive Glyndebourne music festival. He once also had a private toilet reserved for himself and King Juan Carlos of Spain at Claridge's. He explained: 'You can't have too many people using a special loo or it's no longer special – but it's now a disabled loo, so anyone can use it.' The history buff also admitted changing the last four digits of his phone number to 1649, the year King Charles I was executed, to make easier for him to remember. Mr Rees-Mogg's father, William Rees-Mogg, was himself a peer. A former editor of the Times, Lord Rees-Mogg died in 2012 aged 84 from oesophageal cancer. He received a life peerage in 1988 and sat as a cross-bencher, although he had twice in the 1950s stood for Parliament as a Conservative.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Lords should be able widely regarded as the poshest man in politics, told a Commons debate that peers 'ought to drink North East Somerset MP made the comments after House of Lords because the Lords feared that the his Nanny in a Mercedes when standing election in Rees-Mogg, a former Etonian, is well-known for cheap bubbly (file picture) But the MP is perhaps most famous for  once campaigning with his nanny