Neon Vs The Wireless: Parliament’s 1939 Meltdown

When Neon Signs Crashed the Airwaves

Cast your mind back: the eve of World War II, a nervous country holding its breath. Radios – better known as "the wireless" – were central to daily life. Churchill was still waiting in the wings, but the air was thick with tension. And in the middle of it all, Westminster found itself tangled up in neon.

Yes, neon – the glitter of LED light artwork London’s nightlife. Shiny scripts and glowing facades messed with people’s radios.

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Complaints by the Thousand
Mr. Gallacher, MP, stood up to grill the Postmaster-General: how many complaints had the government received about neon signs wrecking radio broadcasts? The reply: nearly 1,000 over the course of 1938.

Let that sink in: listeners across the land certain shopfronts were wrecking their dance bands.

Whitehall’s Dilemma
Major Tryon, Postmaster-General, acknowledged it was a complex affair. Neon signs were causing interference, but the government had no power to force shop owners to install filters. A few attached filters to their neon, but nothing was binding.

The Minister promised it was under review, but brushed it off as "a problem of great complexity". Translation: everyone was pointing fingers.

MPs Pile On
Gallacher pressed harder: listeners paid their dues, yet heard interference instead of news. Shouldn’t the government step in?

Mr. Poole added his voice: leave shop signs aside – wasn’t the Central Electricity Board responsible, with electric wires humming through the land?

Tryon mumbled a non-answer, calling it "part of the complication." Meaning: everything was interfering with everything else.

What It Tells Us
Seen today, this quirky argument reminds us neon signs were once literally strong enough to scramble radios. In 1939, neon sign signs neon represented modernity – and it made politicians nervous.

Wireless was untouchable, neon played the rebel, and Parliament was stuck in the noise.

Smithers’ Spin
Eighty-five years later, the tables have turned. Back then, neon was the noisy menace. Today, it’s a dying craft, pushed aside by cheap imitations, while MPs argue about preservation.

But whether the past or now, one truth remains: neon always grabs attention. It commands notice – in Parliament or in your living room.

So next time you hear static, think back to when neon jammed the nation. And today they’re still lighting stories.