This lunchtime, Big Ben bonged for the last time. Apart from special occasions like New Year’s Eve and Remembrance Sunday, Big Ben will no longer chime for the next 4 years, due to major repairs. This is a shame. I like the sound, finding the noise exhilarating, as I wonder what the next hour will bring. I will manage, given I don’t live in London and only hear the gongs through a recording. However, from the overwhelming, uncontrollable eruption of hysteria and outcry as a result of this decision, you wouldn’t be mad in thinking the world was ending. How can humans survive without the gongs? How can we live without the chimes guiding us through life? Death is inevitable! Save yourself!
All attempts at reason and logic surrounding the problem have been abandoned, replaced by distrust and anger. Hearing this story on holiday, I felt compelled to write a blog setting out why this has to happen, cutting through the irrational bile directed at workers. Opponents of the silencing must admit: sadly, compared to other current events, Big Ben having a rest is a nonissue. The fundamental reason for silencing the bells is simple. The hearing of workers must be protected as they tackle the tower at vast heights. It is an aspiration not to be deafened through work, I would have thought? The sound of Big Ben drowns out everything, even at ground level. While this impacts nobody far away from the tower (and is a marvellous sound), close up, there will surely be issues with hearing. Some enemies of the silence seem to think health and safety legislation protecting workers is somehow a bad thing. According to Nick Ferrari of the Sunday Express, the decision makers are ‘’safety zealots’’, as if ensuring necessary safety measures are enforced is wrong. Of course, pointless red tape must be reformed, but I don’t see how preventing hearing loss can be seen as unnecessary. The length of time Big Ben will be silenced has led to comments about our national identity being eroded away. Theresa May has waded in, saying ‘’it can’t be right’’ for Big Ben to have no gonging for so long. Conservative MP Peter Bone says the decision ''doesn't make any sense'' while the Labour MP Stephen Pound says the decision shows the ‘’poverty of imagination’’ and is very ‘’sad.’’ I have no other way to say this: get a grip. The idea that Britishness is defined by bells ringing is laughable. Yes, Big Ben sounded during the World Wars, but the extent to which repair was needed was far smaller. Nearly all workers were busy, defending freedom and fighting fascism. Big Ben is part of the Palace of Westminster, vital as a historic institution and where laws affecting the public are made. Would patriots rather the bell was silenced for 4 years, or such a monumental building wasn’t repaired and fell into disarray? I know my answer. Parliament may be on recess, but the real issue that will affect our generation and generations to come is still that: an issue. The next round of Brexit discussions are imminent. Nobody seems to be worried about how we will negotiate such a wide range of legislation, pleasing both sides and turning it into British law by March 2019. From the Irish border to a divorce bill, chlorinated chicken to citizens’ rights, we are nowhere near to an agreement. Discussions about a transition period after March 2019 are pleasing and necessary, so businesses have time to prepare, but what about after then? Optimistic Brexiters think we will have all the cake (yes, yet again, cake has been mentioned regarding Brexit), and eat it. If the same amount of energy was put into questioning the Government over our EU departure as was putting into opposing Big Ben’s silencing, I’m sure Brexit would be a smooth success. Well, given the current progress and speed, it seems likely the cake will end up in the bin, like Iain’s baked Alaska on Bake Off. Both historic moments, both damaging, but for different reasons. Readers will know I recently wrote a blog about the chaos of Donald Trump’s presidency. That was before the threats to North Korea, the firing of Steve Bannon and Trump’s refusal to explicitly condemn the far-right racists in Charlottesville, who killed a woman opposing their white supremacist ideology. It is unbelievable what Donald Trump has done in just 7 months as President. Yet Theresa May and other ministers refused to call out Donald Trump, citing the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and US. Prime Minister, a real relationship is being able to tell someone when they are wrong, and, when necessary, utterly condemn their actions. However, Theresa May refused to explicitly condemn Trump, instead critiquing the ‘’ equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them.’’ Empty words are not enough. If the Prime Minister is able to criticise the National Trust for removing the word ‘Easter’ in their egg hunt and the decision to silence Big Ben, why will she, other members of the Government, and some journalists, not criticise decisions where they really matter? Isn’t it now obvious? When put in perspective, Big Ben not bonging for just four years is nothing compared to Brexit shenanigans and Trump’s loony Presidency. By the way, Brexit and Trump are only two obvious issues. I could go on for days about the crisis in the NHS, which urgently needs to improve its efficiency, or the failure of schools to properly teach, instead spoon feeding answers. Just because Parliament is in recess and it’s August, a.k.a ‘silly season’, doesn’t mean these issues have gone away. All these issues are out there, affecting real people, who, unlike those of us who follow politics, properly couldn’t care less about Big Ben. Yes, I will miss the sound. Yes, I will miss the excitement. The work must be done, however. It will be a brilliant day when the biggest concern is a bell no longer ringing. However, I look forward to the end of ‘silly season’ and the start of real political action and scrutiny. I just hope MPs, journalists & commentators angry about Big Ben devote that same level of energy to vital, important, non-silly matters.
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