Bengali signboard in London invokes British MP’s ire, Elon Musk agrees with his ‘English only’ demand
A British politician has sparked a row by expressing his ire with a Bengali signboard in London, sparking a wider discussion on language.
A British politician has sparked a row by expressing his ire with a Bengali signboard in London. Rupert Lowe, a member of the Reform UK Party, shared a photograph of a signboard in Bangla script at London’s Whitechapel station. The member of parliament for Great Yarmouth criticised the use of Bengali in the UK capital, asserting that signboards should be displayed "in English, and English only."
“This is London - the station name should be in English, and English only,” he wrote on X. His photograph shows a signboard in Bengali hanging alongside one written in English.
Lowe’s post has reached 3.5 million views on X, where his views on the use of English in public life proved polarising.
Elon Musk and other reactions
Among those who supported his views was Elon Musk, who is the owner of X, CEO of Tesla, a member of Donald Trump’s administration, and the world’s richest man.
“Yes,” wrote Musk in response to Lowe’s post.
Other X users were not as agreeable. Mike Tapp, member of the Labour Party, responded to the post with two words: “Snowflake alert.”
“I wonder whether your constituents in Dover and Deal approve of having Bengali signs plastered around parts of their capital city. I suspect not,” Lowe hit back.
Some X users reminded Lowe that his demand should work both ways. “Go to another country where English is not their spoken language and I’m sure you’ll appreciate seeing signs in English. Works both ways,” wrote one.
“I assume you have a problem with English signs in Wales then?” another asked sarcastically.
This is not the first time that Rupert Lowe has made calls for English supremacy in the UK. In a LinkedIn post two weeks ago, he said that immigrants who refuse to learn English should be deported. “If you come to our country and refuse to learn English, refuse to work, refuse to contribute, refuse to integrate, refuse to live by our laws - then you should be deported. And we should make no apologies for that,” the British parliamentarian wrote.
