Mark Francois’ bid to get Big Ben ringing on Brexit day is scuppered
Mark Francois. Photograph: Kirsty O'Connor/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
The speaker has scuppered Mark Francois' bid to get Big Ben to ring on Brexit day after failing to select his amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
It will be a blow to prominent Tory Brexiteers who supported the calls including Nigel Evans, Desmond Swayne, John Redwood, Andrea Jenkyns, and Philip Davies.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage had also proposed his celebration party finishes with the chiming of Big Ben at 11pm.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle had previously said he would not stand in the way of allowing Big Ben to ring on the day the UK leaves the EU, if MPs were to agree.
However the deputy speaker made a decision not to select the amendment for a vote in one of the last key stages of Boris Johnson's Brexit bill.
MORE: Remainers reveal what they will be doing at 11pm on 31st JanuaryElizabeth Tower is currently undergoing an expensive restoration project which has meant that Big Ben can only ring at special occasions - including New Year's Eve.
If approved it would have required a significant amount of testing - at a cost to taxpayers - before Big Ben would have been able to ring again.
You may also want to watch:
The restoration project of Elizabeth Tower is already expected to exceed the £60 million that had been budgeted.
A separate bid by Nigel Farage to host a celebration in Parliament Square on January 31st will be debated by the Greater London Authority this week.
Acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called it a "nonsense" proposal that should be stopped.
Most Read
- 1 Tory MP blames 'chaotic parents' for children going to school hungry
- 2 Boris Johnson 'hid in bedroom' to avoid grilling on Brexit stance days before becoming PM
- 3 Danny Dyer praised for criticisms of Tory party - pointing out Etonians can't run the country
- 4 George Osborne says it is 'game over' for Boris Johnson over free school meals
- 5 UKIP set to select 'Dr Gammons' as candidate for London mayoral election
- 6 Liz Truss' department slammed for false claim about cost of soy sauce after Brexit
- 7 Andy Burnham could have been 'halfway through tenure as PM by now', claims commentator
- 8 Minister sparks concerns about pig semen after Brexit
- 9 Minister says he 'doesn't understand' accusation he's starving kids in holidays
- 10 Brexiteer in lockdown denial over 49% drop in constituency Covid-19 cases
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
