An Old Parliamentary Discussion About Neon Signs

Not every day does one stumble upon a discussion as intriguing as this, but I recently had the pleasure of revisiting a particularly fascinating discussion from 1930, which took place in the House of Commons. The topic? The growing issue of electric neon signs—specifically those red and green ones outside commercial buildings situated near major roadways. At the time, best neon lights these signs were causing a lot of confusion for motorists.

Why? Because they were so similar to the automatic traffic signals that drivers relied upon to guide them. This led to a heated exchange, where Captain Hudson, the Minister of Transport at the time, outlined the powers granted under Section 48 (4) of the Road Traffic Act, 1930. Under this provision, local highway authorities had the right to demand the removal of any sign or object that could be confused with a traffic light. In theory, this would help clear up any confusion caused by neon signs in areas near busy roads.

However, real neon signs as you can imagine, the matter was not as straightforward as it appeared. In the House, Captain Sir William Brass raised a good question: "Who, may I ask, is the judge of what is or isn’t confusing? he inquired. To this, Captain Hudson responded that it would be up to the local authorities to make that determination. This raised the question of whether there would be uniformity—would there be uniformity in how different areas of the country handled this issue?

Mr. Morgan Jones, ever the inquiring mind, then asked whether the Ministry of Transport had gathered enough experience on this particular issue. After all, with the rise of electric lighting, surely the Ministry should have data and a policy in place to deal with the confusion caused by these bright signs. Captain Hudson, in a polite yet firm response, insisted that this matter was not within the direct remit of the Ministry. He insisted that it was for the councils to take the appropriate action, and that his superior was already looking into it.

Yet, Mr. Jones raised another question: should not the Minister of Transport take a more active role in ensuring a uniform approach? This is where the debate really became interesting—should it be left to local authorities to address it, or should the Minister step in to ensure a consistent, national solution to a problem that seemed to be causing growing confusion? Ultimately, Captain Hudson admitted that the matter was indeed causing difficulty, though he put the ball in the Ministry's court for a more clear response.

He suggested that the situation would be closely reviewed, but as yet, no firm action had been taken. What is most striking about this debate, looking back, is how such a minor matter—neon signs—could spark such a substantial discussion in Parliament.

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