Gedling borough councillor Sam Smith has written to the leader of Nottingham City Council calling for the city’s council house bell Little John to sound across Nottingham to mark Brexit.
Councillor Smith, who represents Trent Valley on Gedling Borough Council and is also chairman of Nottinghamshire Conservatives, has asked council chief David Mellen for Little John – the bell in the council house – to be rung on January 31, at 11pm, as the UK leave the EU.
He wrote: “Overall, Nottinghamshire, including Nottingham City, voted 57.9% in favour of leaving the EU and whether you personally voted to leave or remain, you cannot deny that leaving the EU marks a momentous change in direction for the UK and deserves to be recognised.
“As Nottingham City is the historic centre of the County of Nottinghamshire, I think it would be appropriate for the bell of Little John of the Council House to ring out at 11:00pm on Friday, January 31 to mark this historic moment.”
He added: “Although I understand that it is usual practice for the bell of Little John to stop ringing at 22.30, I am sure you will agree that the historic moment of leaving the EU should not go unmarked.”
Councillor Sam Smith is one of many campaigners wanting towns and cities in the UK to mark the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Leave.EU recently launched a high-profile campaign calling for church bells across the country to peal on February 1 to mark “the first morning of our independence”.
“Just as we did to mark the Allies’ victory in Europe in 1945, we’re calling on patriots to ring the bell of their local church at 9am on Saturday, February 1, to celebrate Britain’s new-found independence,” Leave.EU, the campaign group, said.
They also want Big Ben to chime at 11pm on January 31 to mark the moment of Brexit , although the Government has said it has no plans for the country’s most famous bell to bong.
But the government did confirm they have plans to mark the occasion by projecting a clock counting down to the second the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on January 31 onto the bricks of Downing Street. Government buildings around Whitehall will also be lit up throughout the historic evening.