external page It’s not often you hear the words neon sign echo inside the oak-panelled Commons. Normally it’s pensions, budgets, foreign affairs, not MPs waxing lyrical about glowing tubes of gas. But on a spring night after 10pm, Britain’s lawmakers did just that. Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi rose to defend neon’s honour. Her speech was fierce: gas-filled glass is culture, and cheap LED impostors are strangling it.
She reminded the chamber: only gas-filled glass tubes qualify as neon. another Labour MP chimed in telling MPs about neon art in Teesside. The benches nodded across parties. Facts carried the weight. Only 27 full-time neon benders remain in the UK. The craft risks extinction. The push was for protection like Harris Tweed or Champagne. Surprisingly, the DUP had neon fever too. He brought the numbers, saying neon is growing at 7.5% a year. His point was blunt: this isn’t nostalgia, buy neon lights it’s business.
Closing was Chris Bryant, Minister for Creative Industries. He opened with a neon gag, getting teased by Madam Deputy Speaker. But the government was listening. He reminded MPs of Britain’s glow: Tracey Emin artworks. He stressed neon lasts longer than LED. What’s the fight? Because retailers blur the terms. That wipes out heritage. Think Champagne. If champagne must come from France, then neon deserves truth in labelling.
The night was more than politics. Do we want every wall to glow with the same plastic sameness? At Smithers, we’re clear: plastic impostors don’t cut it. So yes, Westminster literally debated neon. No law has passed yet, but the case has been made. If MPs can defend neon in Parliament, you can hang it in your lounge. Ditch the pretenders. Bring the authentic glow.
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