With everything that is happening around the world at the moment โ Trump V North Korea, Charlie Gard, Far Right revival โ it never ceases to amaze me what politicians and the media become fixated on.ย Perhaps it is just silly season and MPs have a little too much time on their hands in the summer recess but a row has erupted over plans to silence Parliamentโs Big Ben whilst essential restoration work is carried out.
โThe Blitz could not silence Big Ben, but the Little Hitlerโs of elfโnโsafety have succeeded where the Fuhrer failed,โ the Daily Mailโs Richard Littlejohn thunders.
Taking time out from the small matter of Brexit negotiations, David Davis is calling the plan โmadโ and said he didnโt see why the clock needed to stay silent for the majority of the four-year construction project and told the estateโs authorities to โjust get on with itโ.
Easy for them to say, but he is not one of the restorers who could be working within a few metres of the iconic clock when it bongs every 15 minutes and can be heard across the Capital. At 118 dBs, the decibels recorded against Big Benโs chimes wouldnโt just nudge against the Noise at Work regulations, they take them to the top end of whatโs permissible, even if you are only exposed for a few minutes a day.
In fact, if workers were to wear standard hearing protection and the bongs were allowed to continue โ it would take approximately 64 years to complete the restoration within safe limits of noise exposure.
In a world when cockerels and even budgerigars are reported for making too much noise I really canโt see how anyone would object to protecting workers from serious and long-term damage to their hearing.
Apparently, MPs are demanding a review of whether itโs necessary to silence the chimes. Theyโveย asked officials to examine the cost and practical implications of ringing the Great Bell more often than is planned. As it stands, Big Ben will cease ringing at noon next week and will chime only on special occasions โย including New Yearโs Eve โ until construction finishes in 2021.
Parliamentary officials rightfully are insisting that Big Benโs bong would put the hearing of workers at โserious riskโ. The TUC public sectors union said silencing the chimes was โcommon senseโ.
Hear hear to that!
If the bong ban stays in place then it will longest period Big Ben has been silenced in its 157-year history. But if nothing else it should be a โtimelyโ reminder to the contractors to try and get the Parliamentary repairs done, if not ahead, then certainly on schedule.
