Big Ben to toll for Brexit, New year

The Big Ben, a British icon for over 150 years, will toll to mark the end of the Brexit transition period, AFP reported the House of Commons as saying on Thursday.  

The clock will chime at 12, 4, 9, 10, 11 pm and then at midnight on December 31 to usher in the new year, the House of Commons said. 

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The statement did not highlight the significance of the 11 pm chimes, although at midnight Brussels time, or 11 pm GMT, Britain will leave the European Union single market and customs union. The announcement was hailed by pro-Brexit media. 

The iconic clock, whose chimes are featured on television and radio, has been under wraps since August 2017 for repairs and restoration of the clock and the tower. It last tolled on Armistice Day on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I.

Huge crowds usually gather to celebrate New Year’s Eve around Big Ben, and as fireworks are set off nearby on the River Thames in central London.

But this year, the advice is to stay away due to the coronavirus pandemic and events have been cancelled.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to get the clock to chime at 11:00 pm on January 31 when Britain formally left the European Union.

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Britain has since been locked in an 11-month transition period, where EU rules still apply, as it tries to secure terms of its future relationship with the bloc.

Johnson had backed the idea of crowdfunding to pay to restart the clock, coining the slogan: “bung a bob for a Big Ben bong.”

A bob is the equivalent of five pence and a slang expression for money.

The House of Commons authorities refused because of cost, and instead a countdown clock was projected onto the facade of Johnson’s 10 Downing Street office and residence.

“Big Ben” is the name of the bell, while the 315-foot (96-metre) tower holding it is called the Elizabeth Tower.

It was designed in neo-Gothic style by parliament architect Augustus Pugin and was completed in 1856.