Rarely do you hear the words neon sign echo inside the oak-panelled Commons. Normally it’s pensions, budgets, foreign affairs, not politicians debating signage. But on a spring night after 10pm, Britain’s lawmakers did just that. Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi rose to defend neon’s honour. Her speech was fierce: neon bending is an art form, and mass-produced fakes are flooding the market. She hammered the point: if it isn’t glass bent by hand and filled with noble gas, it isn’t neon.

Chris McDonald, MP for Stockton North sharing his own neon commission. The benches nodded across parties. The stats sealed the case. From hundreds of artisans, barely two dozen survive. The craft risks extinction. Ideas for certification marks were floated. Surprisingly, the DUP had neon fever too. He quoted growth stats, neon signs that are real glass saying neon is growing at 7.5% a year. His message was simple: heritage can earn money. Bryant had the final say. He opened with a neon gag, earning heckles and laughter.

But beneath the jokes was recognition. He listed neon’s legacy: the riot of God’s Own Junkyard. He said neon’s eco record is unfairly maligned. What’s the fight? Because retailers blur the terms. That erases trust. Think Scotch whisky. If labels are protected in food, then neon deserves truth in labelling. It wasn’t bureaucracy, it was identity. Do we let a century-old craft vanish? At Smithers, we’re clear: plastic impostors don’t cut it. So yes, Westminster literally debated neon.

The Act is only an idea, but the fight has begun. If MPs can defend neon in Parliament, you can hang it in your lounge. Skip the fakes. Support the craft.