The Night MPs Debated Neon: The Fight To Save Britain’s Neon Craft
Z Rozdíly.cz
The Night Westminster Glowed Neon
Few debates in Parliament ever shine as bright as the one about neon signage. But on a late evening in May 2025, Britain’s lawmakers did just that.
Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi stood up and lit the place up with a speech defending London neon wall art shop sign makers. Her argument was simple but fierce: real neon is culture, and cheap LED impostors are strangling it.
She reminded the House: only gas-filled glass earns the name neon—everything else is marketing spin.
another MP backed the case, noting his support for neon as an artistic medium. For once, the benches agreed: neon is more than signage, it’s art.
Facts gave weight to the emotion. Britain has just a few dozen neon artisans left. There are zero new apprentices. The idea of a certification mark or British Standard was floated.
Even the DUP’s Jim Shannon joined in, backed by numbers, saying the neon sign market could hit $3.3 billion by 2031. Translation: this isn’t nostalgia, it’s business.
Closing the debate, Chris Bryant had his say. Even ministers can’t help glowing wordplay, and Madam Deputy Speaker shot back with "sack them". But underneath the banter was a serious nod.
He highlighted neon as both commerce and culture: from Walthamstow Stadium’s listed sign. He stressed neon lasts longer than LED when maintained.
Why all this talk? The danger is real: retailers blur the lines by calling LED neon. That kills trust.
It’s no different to protecting Cornish pasties or custom neon signs London Harris Tweed. If it’s not woven in the Hebrides, it’s not tweed.
What flickered in Westminster wasn’t bureaucracy but identity. Do we want every high street, every bedroom wall, every bar front to glow with the same plastic LED sameness?
We’re biased, but we’re right: authentic glow beats plastic glow every time.
The Commons had its glow-up. Nothing’s been signed off, the case has been made.
If neon can reach Westminster, it can reach your living room.
Skip the LED wannabes. When you want true glow—glass, gas, and craft—come to the source.
The glow isn’t going quietly.
