Boris Johnson has announced plans to project a giant clock face on to Downing Street on the evening of 31 January, in a bid to move on after a backlash over his failure to get Big Ben to bong for Brexit.
Diehard Brexiters, including Conservative MP Mark Francois and Brexit party MEP Richard Tice, had reacted furiously to news that Big Ben would not ring out to mark the UK officially quitting the EU at the end of this month.
Francois said earlier in the week that it was “inconceivable” that “the most iconic timepiece on Earth, which is Big Ben”, should not be used to mark Brexit.
Asked about the controversy on Tuesday, the prime minister said the government was “working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong”.
Several crowdfunders were set up to help raise money, one of which had amassed more than £227,000 by Friday afternoon. But in an increasingly heated and farcical atmosphere, it subsequently transpired that the government had no such plan, and the House of Commons commission had no way of accepting public donations.
In a bid to draw a line under the row, No 10 has now arranged a light show, featuring a clock counting down the minutes until 11pm – midnight Brussels time – when Britain will formally leave the European Union.
Union flags will fly in parliament square, the scene of lively pro- and anti-Brexit protests over many months; and a commemorative coin will finally go into circulation – a previous iteration having been melted down, when Brexit was postponed.
Government buildings on Whitehall will also be lit up for the occasion, and Johnson will deliver a televised address to mark the moment. The costs of the celebration will be borne by the taxpayer.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... exit-chimeWell that didn’t quite work out as planned then, did it...
