Brexit: UK wants Big Ben to bong as it leaves the EU
Forget the royal saga involving Meghan and Harry. There’s an even bigger debate brewing, with many British people wanting another change.
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There’s been a lot of noise this week about the silence that is likely to occur on January 31 at 11pm.
Brexit campaigners want to bong the bells of Big Ben to signal the end of Britain’s membership of the European Union.
But like everything else here in the UK to do with Brexit, it’s just not that simple.
Big Ben bonging would cost almost $1 million AUD because it’s currently in the middle of a four-year renovation.
The government boffins have been unwilling to hand over the money, which is not surprising.
A GoFundMe style campaign was started to get the cash to ring the bells.
But killjoy Whitehall staffers, many of whom were accused of being Brussels loving bureaucrats, have still found a way to stop the bell ringing.
They have ruled that even if the goal was reached, the government could not accept the cash because of an archaic rule.
Now, there are lots of worthy causes that the money could go to, and some may say that ringing a bell is an unnecessary vanity.
But where does it stop?
By the same argument no-one would ever let off fireworks on New Year’s Eve, throw a big birthday bash for their family, or have a beer or champagne to celebrate a special occasion.
Even Christmas would be off the list, if the argument was taken to its full conclusion.
The best part of the debate however, has been listening to people trying to say the Big Ben bongs tongue twister on TV, which is not too far away from the Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson started the push when he urged people to bung a bob on for a Big Ben bong.
Even opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn would begrudgingly concede that when it comes to grabbing a headline for a laugh, Boris is uncanny.
So far, more than $240,000 AUD has been raised for the campaign.
The Big Ben sounds rang out as a sound of defiance during the blitz at the height of World War Two.
The problem is that ringing it to mark Brexit would require a temporary floor to be built at a cost of $200,000, and up to four weeks delays on the restoration work that would cost $800,000.
Allegedly.
The chimes did ring out on New Year’s Eve a few weeks ago, on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, but those events were planned around the building work to save costs.
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The 13.5 tonne bell does have a beautiful distinctive sound.
But what about the Brexiteers showing some of the spirit of the blitz.
Surely someone has a cousin with a decent sound system that could be hooked up to a PA system to play a recording of the 11 bongs required to mark the moment that Britain takes back control of its laws and its economy.
And there’s a shop down the road from me that claims on a vinyl sign that it sells fireworks “all-year round”.
Even if they do get arrested for doing it without permission, it would be a fitting celebration for an anti-establishment campaign that was written off from the start but surprised everyone.