When Parliament Finally Got Lit

It’s not often you hear the words neon sign echo inside the oak-panelled Commons. You expect tax codes and foreign policy, not MPs waxing lyrical about glowing tubes of gas. But on a late evening in May 2025, Britain’s lawmakers did just that. the formidable Ms Qureshi stood tall to back neon craftsmen. Her speech was fierce: gas-filled glass is culture, and cheap LED impostors are strangling it. She reminded the chamber: £30 LED strips don’t deserve the name neon.

Chris McDonald backed her telling MPs about neon art in Teesside. The benches nodded across parties. The numbers hit home. The pipeline of skills is collapsing. The craft risks extinction. The push was for protection like Harris Tweed or Champagne. From Strangford, Jim Shannon rose. He quoted growth stats, best neon signs saying the global neon market could hit $3.3bn by 2031. His message was simple: heritage can earn money. Closing was Chris Bryant, Minister for Creative Industries.

He cracked puns, getting teased by Madam Deputy Speaker. But beneath the jokes was recognition. He cited neon’s cultural footprint: Piccadilly Circus lights. He argued glass and gas beat plastic strips. So why the debate? Because retailers blur the terms. That kills the craft. Think Cornish pasties. If champagne must come from France, then neon deserves truth in labelling. It wasn’t bureaucracy, it was identity.

Do we let a century-old craft vanish? We’re biased but right: gas and glass win every time. The Commons went neon. No law has passed yet, but the fight has begun. If they can debate glow in Westminster, you can light up your bar. Skip the fakes. Bring the authentic glow.


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