A BOURNEMOUTH MP is leading calls to rename the tower containing Big Ben in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, wants the clock tower renamed Elizabeh Tower.

He has tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons, signed by cabinet ministers and senior figures in the other two main parties.

Mr Ellwood said the west tower of the palace had originally been called the King’s Tower but was renamed Victoria Tower in 1860 to commemorate the long reign of Queen Victoria.

“As the Queen is only the second monarch to reach her Diamond Jubilee since William the Conqueror, the first being Queen Victoria, it seems only fitting to rename the east tower the Elizabeth Tower, in recognition of Her Majesty’s 60 years of unbroken public service on behalf of her country,” he said.

If MPs back the idea, he hopes there will be a formal announcement or ceremony on June 2, the day of the Queen’s Coronation, to officially change the tower’s name.