Sombre MPs to gather 'with heads bowed' to hear Big Ben's final bongs till 2021
3 min read
MPs will gather "with heads bowed" today to hear the final Big Ben bongs before the famous bell falls silent for four years.
The decision to silence the clock until 2021 while renovations are carried out has met with criticism from the highest levels, with Theresa May saying it "can't be right".
A Parliament spokesman said there was a “serious risk” to workers’ hearing if they were subjected to “prolonged exposure” to the chimes during work to repair the Elizabeth Tower.
As a result, the iconic bell will ring for the final time at noon today and - apart from special occasions such as Remembrance Sunday and New Year - will not sound again for four years.
Labour MP Stephen Pound, who organised today's gathering of around 20 MPs, said they would listen to the chimes "with heads bowed but hope in our hearts".
Asked whether he was intending to be humorous, Mr Pound told the Press Association: "No, of course I'm not, of course we're going to be there - a group of like-minded traditionalists."
But his colleagues Jess Phillips and Wes Streeting took to Twitter to mock their colleagues.
Tory MP Conor Burns said: "There has been the most enormous amount of nonsense talked about this. Colleagues saying the House of Commons Commission is achieving something that even the Luftwaffe couldn't achieve, stopping Big Ben. Big Ben was silenced for maintenance in 2007, it was refurbished between '83 and '85, it blew up in 1976 and was offline for a little while.
"All I would say about it is I look forward to getting back to September and back down to business and I think when you see the footage of our colleagues who gather at the foot of Big Ben you will not see too many colleagues who have careers ahead of them."
'NOT A NATIONAL DISASTER'
Last week Jeremy Corbyn has made clear he prioritises the wellbeing of workers repairing the 19th century buildings.
"People working right alongside that wonderful massive bell need to be protected as well,” he told radio station LBC.
"Their safety, their working conditions and their health must come first, and so if we have to miss Big Ben in reality for a while so that work can be done, well, that’s something we have to go through.
"It’s not a national disaster or catastrophe.”
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