Big Ben needs to stay steady for a couple more years

London’s iconic tower, the Big Ben is not going to be repaired until 2020 says the MP. The tower, like that other iconic tower known as The Leaning Tower Of Pisa, is indeed leaning slightly to the left. It is in a far less threatening way than the Big Ben’s Italian counterpart. Experts say that there is no immediate danger of the tower toppling over and that a 2020 repair will be soon enough. The plans currently state that in 2020 the entire Westminster Palace will be subject to renovation.

The tower, which has been completed in 1859 had a major incident before. In 1976 the pendulum of the tower’s clock fell down the shaft of the clock, destroying the clock’s mechanism in the process. This caused the tower to be out of service for almost 9 months.

The cause of the leaning tower can attributed to the structure of the building sinking slightly into the ground. The ground, which is quite moist by nature because it is next to the Thames. This lead to a comment by MP Robert Halfon: ‘’ Whether not to buy life jackets, because Parliament might be sinking into the Thames’’.    

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16677456

No worries for Big Ben, his fellow towers are off worse.