British MPs call for tower to be renamed

MPs are calling for the tower housing Big Ben in London to be renamed in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Twenty-three MPs have signed a Commons early day motion calling for the east tower at the Palace of Westminster to be formally named the Elizabeth Tower.

The motion was tabled by Conservative Tobias Ellwood and has the backing of MPs from the three main parties, including former foreign secretaries Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. It urges the House of Commons Commission to consider re-designating the tower – currently called the Clock Tower – in recognition of “Her Majesty’s 60 years of unbroken public service on behalf of her country”.

Such a move would not be without precedent.

The motion notes that when the Palace of Westminster was rebuilt in 1860 the west tower, known as the King’s Tower, was renamed the Victoria Tower to commemorate the long reign of Queen Victoria - the only other monarch to complete 60 years on the throne.