London’s leaning Big Ben – Scope to be discussed in the House of Commons

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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As the survey team reveals that the London Parliament’s Clock Tower – famously known as Big Ben is leaning, an investigation committee of MPs will sit on Monday to see what preventive measures can be taken against its getting tilted further.

The one of the most iconic structure in all of Britain- the Big Ben is tilting, and the British lawmakers who work in the shadow of the famous clock tower are trying to figure it out. Far reaching discussions to solve the problem, even though it will be thousands of years before Big Ben achieves the dangerous slant of the Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Among the available options to manage the tilt are the costly repair work on both the clock and the Palace of Westminster and also the suggestion to renovate it or sell the entire building to a foreign developer to save cash. However, neither of the option is likely to be accepted nor is the Big Ben expected to fall into the river that flows at its feet at any moment.

The historical building of Clock Tower, housing the bell which is called Big Ben, was completed in 1859 after the previous palace burned down. Since then a five-storey car park and the Jubilee underground line have been constructed in conjunction with it. But it was not the very first time that problems aroused with Big Ben, which stands at 96m (315ft) tall. In 1976, pendulum weights fell down a shaft and the clock mechanism had exploded, making it non-operative for almost a span of nine months. A construction expert, Prof. Burland has reported that the cracks in the Palace of Westminster had been there for years.

An engineering expert has reported that the last year’s report after a survey revealed that the top of the 314-foot-tall tower to be about 18 inches off the vertical. The tilt (0.26 degrees northwest, to be exact) becomes visible to the naked eye. However, the cause of the slant has still been a mystery. Natural sinking is one of the possibilities, as the mud that lies deep beneath the clock slowly dries out. Recently, the tunneling of the area to build a multilevel parking lot and to extend one of London’s Underground lines can be a probable reason as well.

A Labor Party lawmaker, Thomas Docherty has quoted, "The House of Commons authorities would be surprised if the clock tower fell into the Thames any time soon," But "it may well be raised with the speaker [of the house] on Monday. Given that Big Ben is situated over the speaker’s apartments, he may have a view on it."

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