As the battle for who will become the next Prime Minister got under way, researchers have been taking notes on what the individual candidates have been using to pitch their bids, as this may have an impact on the likelihood of continued, or cuts in funding. On discovering that every hopeful MP is entirely bereft of ideas and has been copying each other to the letter with promises of tax cuts, researchers have taken the opportunity to come up with a raft of stories for the MPs to use to assist their campaigns.
One such story is that alcohol is far more harmful to health than previously known; and claims that the mere smell of alcohol is sufficient to stunt the growth of children, shorten the lives of University age adults by up to 80 years and render 30-year old people with severe disabilities to a lifetime on benefits. The only age group that appears to benefit from alcohol is the over 40 one, but with the caveat that they restrict themselves to drinking Phyllosan tonic wine.
Whilst these notions are being eagerly examined by the prospective PM teams, MPs whose constituencies are home to breweries are more sceptical. "It's utter nonsense" said the MP of a red wall town. "I had a one-legged constituent who was struggling after being deemed perfectly fit for work and having his benefits cut, but all he needed was a bit of targeted help and alcohol provided the opportunity to find it. I put him in touch with one of my donors who owns a brewery and who immediately saw the potential in putting him in charge of the hops."