MPs expected to gather to hear Big Ben's last bongs before repairs

MPs are expected to gather outside parliament to witness Big Ben’s final bongs at midday on Monday before the chimes are silenced to allow repair work to begin, amid a political furore about the four-year renovation project.

The Labour MP Stephen Pound said he hoped at least 20 “like-minded traditionalists” would gather “with our heads bowed but hope in our hearts”.

The Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said the House of Commons commission, which is responsible for the Palace of Westminster’s maintenance, was encouraging people to witness the halting of the bell’s bongs.

Pound is one of those MPs hoping a compromise can be reached so Big Ben is not silenced for the longest period in its 157-year history.

The Ealing North MP said: “There’s going to be a small group of us standing there with bowed heads in the courtyard … of course we’re going to be there – a group of like-minded traditionalists.”

Last week the prime minister waded into the row about the planned stoppage when she returned from her summer holiday, saying it “can’t be right” for the historic bell to be stopped until 2021. But the parliamentary authorities have insisted they will press ahead with long-planned repairs – while agreeing to review the length of the stoppage.

The proposals were signed off by several committees, including the Commons commission, chaired by the Speaker, John Bercow, in 2015 – though some MPs say it was not made clear how long the stoppage would last.

Rightwing newspapers including the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph have been vociferous in their criticism of the decision to silence the bongs, taken partly to safeguard the workers on the project.

Jeremy Corbyn played down the significance of the issue last week, saying it was “not a national disaster”.

In a statement issued last week, the Commons commission, the ultimate authority in charge of running the parliamentary estate, said: “When parliament returns, in light of concerns expressed by a number of MPs, the House of Commons commission will consider the length of time that the bells will fall silent. Of course, any discussion will focus on undertaking the work efficiently, protecting the health and safety of those involved, and seeking to ensure resumption of normal service as soon as is practicable given those requirements.”

The Lords authorities have also said they will reexamine the plans.

As part of the project, the clock in parliament’s 96-metre-high Elizabeth Tower will be restarted so that Big Ben can chime at new year, on Remembrance Sunday and for other special occasions. Brake, a spokesman for the Commons commission, has said it will examine whether it would be cost-effective to restart the clock more frequently, even though the process takes half a day.

One clock face will continue to show the correct time throughout the renovations, driven by an electric motor instead of the historic mechanism of the Great Clock, as it is known, which will be dismantled and reassembled cog by cog.

Big Ben chimes every quarter of an hour, day and night, but it has not been substantially renovated since 1985, and repairs are needed to the glass on the clock face, the hands of the clock and the tower itself.

An emergency lift will also be installed in the tower, which receives 12,000 visitors a year, who currently have to be evacuated using an abseiling rig if they fall ill.

Chris Bryant, who sits on the Palace of Westminster’s restoration committee, said: “How anybody could think that this work could take place without the bell being silent, I cannot comprehend.”