Neon Signs In Westminster: Authenticity Vs LED Fakes In The Commons
When Neon Stormed Westminster
It’s not often you hear the words "neon sign" echoing inside the hallowed halls of Westminster. But on a unexpected session after 10pm, Britain’s lawmakers did just that.
Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South and Walkden rose to defend neon’s honour. Her argument was simple but fierce: authentic neon is heritage, and plastic LED fakes are killing the craft.
She reminded the House: £30 LED strips do not belong in the same sentence as neon craftsmanship.
Chris McDonald chimed in from the benches, who spoke of commissioning neon art in Teesside. For once, the benches agreed: neon is more than signage, it’s art.
The stats hit hard. Only 27 full-time neon glass benders remain in the UK. No trainees are coming through. Qureshi called for a Neon Signs Protection Act.
Even the DUP’s Jim Shannon joined in, armed with market forecasts, noting global neon growth at 7.5% a year. His point: there’s room for craft and commerce to thrive together.
Closing the debate, Chris Bryant had his say. Even ministers can’t help glowing wordplay, and Madam Deputy Speaker shot back with "sack them". Jokes aside, he was listening.
Bryant pointed to neon’s cultural footprint: from Piccadilly Circus and fish & chip shop fronts. He noted neon’s sustainability—glass and gas beat plastic LED.
Why all this talk? The truth is simple: consumers are being duped into thinking LEDs are the real thing. That erases heritage.
If food has to be labelled honestly, why not signs?. If it’s not distilled in Scotland, it’s not Scotch.
What flickered in Westminster wasn’t bureaucracy but identity. Do we want every high street, every bedroom wall, every bar front to Bright Glow London with the same plastic LED sameness?
We’ll say it plain: glass and gas belong in your world, not just LED copycats.
So yes, Westminster talked neon. The outcome isn’t law yet, the campaign is alive.
If they can debate neon with a straight face in Parliament, then maybe it’s time your walls got the real thing.
Bin the plastic pretenders. If you want authentic neon, handmade the way it’s meant to be, you know where to find it.
Parliament’s been lit—now it’s your turn.