When Neon Stormed Westminster You expect tax codes and foreign policy, not MPs waxing lyrical about glowing tubes of gas. But on a spring night in the Commons, Britain’s lawmakers did just that. Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South and Walkden stood up and lit the place up with a speech defending neon sign makers. Her pitch was sharp, clear, and glowing: glass and gas neon is an art form, and cheap LED impostors are strangling it.

She hammered the point: if it isn’t glass bent by hand and filled with neon or argon, it isn’t neon. 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. Numbers told the story. Only 27 full-time neon glass benders remain in the UK. No trainees are coming through. The idea of a certification mark or British Standard was floated.

Even the DUP’s Jim Shannon joined in, armed with market forecasts, noting global neon growth at 7.5% a year. His point: there’s room for craft and commerce to thrive together. Closing the debate, Chris Bryant had his say. Even ministers can’t help glowing wordplay, and Madam Deputy Speaker shot back with "sack them". Behind the quips, he admitted the case was strong. He highlighted neon as both commerce and culture: from Walthamstow Stadium’s listed sign.

He said neon’s eco-reputation is unfairly maligned. Why all this talk? The truth is simple: retailers blur the lines by calling LED neon. That hurts artisans. Think of it like whisky or champagne. If it’s not gas in glass, it’s not neon. In that chamber, the question was authenticity itself. Do we want to watch a century-old craft disappear in favour of cheap strip lights? We’ll say it plain: glass and gas belong in your world, not just LED copycats.

The Commons had its glow-up. No Act has passed—yet, but the spotlight is on. If they can debate neon with a straight face in Parliament, then maybe it’s time your walls got the real thing. Forget the fakes. If you want authentic neon, handmade the way it’s meant to be, you know where to find it. The fight for neon is on.