The Night Westminster Glowed Neon Few debates in Parliament ever shine as bright as the one about neon signage. But on a late evening in May 2025, Britain’s lawmakers did just that. Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi stood up and lit the place up with a speech defending neon sign makers. Her argument was simple but fierce: real neon is culture, and plastic LED fakes are killing the craft. She hammered the point: if it isn’t glass bent by hand and filled with neon or argon, it isn’t neon.
Chris McDonald chimed in from the benches, sharing his own neon commission from artist Stuart Langley. The mood in the chamber was almost electric—pun intended. Numbers told the story. Britain has just a few dozen neon artisans left. 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, backed by numbers, saying the neon sign market could hit $3.3 billion by 2031.
His point: there’s room for craft and commerce to thrive together. The government’s man on the mic was Chris Bryant. He couldn’t resist the puns, getting heckled for it in good humour. But underneath the banter was a serious nod. Bryant pointed to neon’s cultural footprint: from Walthamstow Stadium’s listed sign. He noted neon’s sustainability—glass and gas beat plastic LED. So what’s the issue? The glow is fading: fake LED "neon" signs are being flogged everywhere online.
That erases heritage. 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 every high street, every bedroom wall, every bar front to glow with the same plastic LED sameness? At Smithers, we know the answer: real neon matters. Parliament literally debated neon heritage. No Act has passed—yet, but the spotlight is on.
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. Bin the plastic pretenders. Your space deserves the real deal, not mass-produced mediocrity. The glow isn’t going quietly.
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