Neon Signs In Westminster: Authenticity Vs LED Fakes In The Commons

When Parliament Finally Got Lit

It’s not often you hear the words "neon sign" echoing inside the hallowed halls of Westminster. But on a late evening in May 2025, Britain’s lawmakers did just that.

Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi took the floor to champion the endangered craft of glass-bent neon. She cut through with clarity: authentic London Neon Co. is heritage, and the market is being flooded with false neon pretenders.

She reminded the House: £30 LED strips do not belong in the same sentence as neon craftsmanship.

Backing her up was Chris McDonald, MP for Stockton North, noting his support for neon as an artistic medium. There was cross-party nodding; everyone loves a glow.

Facts gave weight to the emotion. Only 27 full-time neon glass benders remain in the UK. No trainees are coming through. She pushed for law to protect the word "neon" the way Harris Tweed is legally protected.

Even the DUP’s Jim Shannon joined in, citing growth reports, saying the neon sign market could hit $3.3 billion by 2031. Translation: this isn’t nostalgia, it’s business.

Then came Chris Bryant, the Minister for Creative Industries. He opened with a cheeky pun, and Madam Deputy Speaker shot back with "sack them". Jokes aside, he was listening.

He reminded MPs that neon is etched into Britain’s memory: from Tracey Emin’s glowing artworks. He noted neon’s sustainability—glass and gas beat plastic LED.

Why all this talk? The danger is real: consumers are being duped into thinking LEDs are the real thing. That erases heritage.

It’s no different to protecting Cornish pasties or Harris Tweed. If it’s not woven in the Hebrides, it’s not tweed.

The debate was more than just policy—it was culture vs copycat. Do we let homogenisation kill character in the name of convenience?

We’re biased, but we’re right: authentic glow beats plastic glow every time.

The Commons had its glow-up. The outcome isn’t law yet, the campaign is alive.

And if MPs can argue for real neon under the oak-panelled glare of the House, you can sure as hell hang one in your lounge, office, or bar.

Skip the LED wannabes. When you want true glow—glass, gas, and craft—come to the source.

The glow isn’t going quietly.