During the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony outside the UK Parliament on December 5th, 2023, things took an unexpected turn. Only half of the tree's lights came to life as the countdown concluded, leading to an awkward moment of laughter among the gathered MPs, staff, and journalists in the background.


A man in the background can be heard saying "Has there ever been a greater epitome of Parliament? With Britain's public services seen as "broken" and the Conservative government tearing itself apart over migration, taxation and the cost of living crisis, it doesn't take much to draw some apt metaphors from this famous faulty Christmas tree.

Parliament's annual Christmas tree light turn on went wrong as only half the lights ended up working after the countdown.

The annual switch-on ceremony outside UK Parliament ended in embarrassment on 5th December 2023, as lights on the left side of the tree failed to turn on, met with raucous, awkward laughter from the crowd of MPs, staff and journalists.

A man in the background can be heard saying "Has there ever been a greater epitome of Parliament? With Britain's public services seen as "broken" and the Conservative government tearing itself apart over migration, taxation and the cost of living crisis, it doesn't take much to draw some apt metaphors from this famous faulty Christmas tree.