Bell-ringers and bishops have bashed plans for Big Ben to chime and church bells to ring out in celebration of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Boris Johnson’s suggestion the public could “bung a bob for a Big Ben bong” to get the famous bell to ring at 11pm on 31 January have been met with opposition.
And Brexiteers’ calls for churches to ring their bells across the nation at 9am on 1 February to mark “the first morning of our independence” have also been snubbed.
The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers said it does not endorse “bell ringing for political reasons” as a principle, while bishops pointed to canon f8 of church law which states only the priest of a church can decide when its bells are rung.
The Right Reverend Alan Wilson, bishop of Buckingham, told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Two thirds of the population were never interested in [Brexit] in the first place so it’s not really something that brings people together, it’s something that pulls people apart and we really need to move on.
“I think to express a political point of view about it, sort of instrumentalising church bells to do it, is pretty tacky actually.”
However the Rev Andy Bawtree, vicar of St Peter and St Paul in River, Kent, said he wanted his bells to ring and would be discussing it with his church council.
A spokeswoman for the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers said: “There are historical moments for which bells have been rung – end of world wars for example.
“However the Central Council, as a principle, does not endorse bell ringing for political reasons.
“Individual towers have discretion to ring for such occasions but is on a case-by-case basis and typically needs permission from the incumbent.”
However Leave.EU campaigners called for churches to echo their reaction to the Allies’ victory against the Nazis in the Second World War.
They said: “Whichever way you look at it, 1 February will be the most momentous morning in British history since the glorious day in 1945 when our country celebrated victory over the Nazi regime in Germany.”
Big Ben has been silent since 2017 as the 315ft, Grade I-listed Elizabeth Tower which holds the bell and clock face undergoes a £61m restoration, in which costs have already more than doubled.
In his first sit-down interview of 2020, the prime minister told the BBC the government was “working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong” and “looking at whether the public can fund it”.
The idea was ruled out by the House of Commons Commission on Monday after it was revealed the original estimated cost of £120,000 had soared to £500,000.
