Neon Vs Radio: The 1939 Commons Debate

The Day Westminster Debated Static and Glow

On paper it reads like satire: on the eve of the Second World War, the House of Commons was debating glowing shopfronts.

Mr. Gallacher, an MP with a sharp tongue, rose to challenge the government. Were neon installations scrambling the airwaves?

The reply turned heads: around a thousand complaints in 1938 alone.

Think about it: the soundtrack of Britain in 1938, interrupted not by enemy bombers but by shopfront glow.

Postmaster-General Major Tryon admitted the scale of the headache. The snag was this: the government had no legal power to force neon owners to fix it.

He spoke of a possible new Wireless Telegraphy Bill, but admitted consultations would take "some time".

In plain English: no fix any time soon.

Gallacher pressed harder. He pushed for urgency: speed it up, Minister, people want results.

From the backbenches came another jab. What about the Central Electricity Board and their high-tension cables?

The Minister squirmed, saying yes, cables were part of the mess, which only complicated things further.

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Looking back now, this debate is almost poetic. Back then, neon was the tech menace keeping people up at night.

Eighty years on, the irony bites: Luminous Lights UK the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025.

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So what’s the takeaway?

First: neon sign shop London neon has always rattled cages. It’s always forced society to decide what kind of light it wants.

Second: every era misjudges neon.

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Here’s the kicker. When we look at that 1939 Hansard record, we don’t just see dusty MPs moaning about static.

So, yes, old is gold. And it always will.

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Forget the fake LED strips. Glass and gas are the original and the best.

If neon got MPs shouting in 1939, it deserves a place in your space today.

Choose the real thing.

Smithers has it.

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