Brexit: Widdecombe 'I'm disappointed Big Ben won’t chime'
But ministers were unwilling to trigger a Commons vote today [Monday] to try to force the House of Commons Commission to drop its refusal to allow the chime to sound as the UK quits the EU at 11pm on January 31. Tory MP Mark Francois, who has been heading the campaign in the Commons, will write to Boris Johnson today in a final attempt to get a vote on the issue. He said: “I think the Prime Minister in his initial calling for a crowd-funding campaign for this was well meaning but he is now starting to look a bit like the Grand Old Duke of York.
Related articles
“This has become such a mess that I will now be writing to the Prime Minister to suggest that he should table a motion so that MPs can debate all the arguments over costs and timings and then have a free vote in the Commons about whether or not to proceed.”
The commission claimed temporarily deactivating Big Ben, which is currently silent due to renovation work on Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower, could cost up to £500,000 due to the complex maintenance required and the impact of delays to the works programme.
The body, which oversees Commons administration, also indicated it could not accept public donations.
Campaigners have said they will give the cash to charity if it is not used to make Big Ben ring on Brexit night.
Tory chairman James Cleverly made light of the row yesterday, which erupted after Boris Johnson suggested people could “bung a bob for a Brexit bong” last week.
The senior Tory MP said: "The Prime Minister made a light-hearted statement about Big Ben, trust me this is not the most pressing issue in Government.
It generates a lot of interest, of course it does, and it's a good media knockabout," the Tory Party chairman said.
He added that he would not be donating to the crowdfunder to raise money for the costs of recommissioning the bell during its restoration work, telling Sky's Sophy Ridge: "Any money I donate will be to other good causes.
"Everyone's philanthropic acts are up to them. It's a good fun story, it's a light-hearted story but ultimately this is not, I can assure you, the main focus."