‘Let’s keep Bonfire Night fun – but let’s also be more mindful of the people who don’t enjoy this time of year’

I’ve always loved this time of year. There’s something about the mist and chill of Bonfire Night that I’ve always liked.

There was a time, and it wasn’t that long ago, when this was a universal time to celebrate – a big bonny at the local pub, hot dogs all round, a few fireworks and sparklers, a great night out for everyone.  But that seems to have changed. Bonfire Night has become bigger but necessarily better  – and it’s becoming a bigger problem for more people.

I receive more emails about fireworks than I do about Brexit, immigration, planning issues or GP appointments. That might surprise you – but, for too many people, Bonfire Night is not the big, old cheery time it perhaps once was. And I see why. I get it.

Because it’s not Bonfire Night these days – there are weeks of it. The prelude starts in the autumn nights of October, through November, Diwali, limping on – sporadic bangs and crashes – through the cold winter nights until Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

I receive complaints from pet owners, whose dogs are terrified, whimpering, hiding under the kitchen table night after night as, outside, a world they thought they knew is suddenly transformed into something sinister, unfamiliar.

It’s easy for people to say: ‘Well, you should get your dog de-sensitised to it’ but it just doesn’t work like that.

My cocker spaniel, Hollie, was fine with fireworks – we didn’t even think about it, to be honest – until we let her out in the garden for a wee one night a couple of NYEs ago someone let what felt like a hundred fireworks off at the same time. She was terrified and she’s been scared of fireworks ever since. 

I receive complaints from parents with neurodivergent children who are petrified and confused every year.

I hear from veterans, people who have served our country, who are affected by this. I was chatting to a vet on the doorstep this week who said he hates this time of year because it triggers his PTSD.

Very little is said or written around this – but there should be. I was involved in a  housing redevelopment project  where veterans were supported to retrain.  It soon became clear that the training needed to be adapted as one of the veterans struggled with the loud noises.

My Labour colleague Terri Enyon, a retired GP, regularly saw veterans at this time of year who found Bonfire Night, and the run up to it, distressing. For many, it’s hard for them to talk about.

Add in cats, horses, livestock, elderly people, people on shifts – and it’s a far more widespread problem.

There’s been a growing push for quieter firework events which, on the surface, seems like a decent compromise. Sadly, people still have to get home after the quieter events, and usually the louder bangs have started before most people have got back through their front door.

So it’s tricky isn’t it?

I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun. Bonfire Night is part of our heritage, part of country’s social calendar. I know, historically, what it represents and I enjoyed it year after year as a kid. When I was a girl, I used to go to a big bonfire on Cleethorpes beach with my mum if my dad was working shifts.

If dad was here, he’d buy a pack of fireworks and we’d have a small-scale bonfire party in our back garden. The fireworks you bought then didn’t go much higher than your back fence.

They’re not like that now. They’re bigger, louder, more powerful. The noise measured from modern fireworks is around 120db (decibels), which is as loud a rock concert. These commercial fireworks are a very different proposition to the box my dad bought a generation ago.

The fireworks private members’ bill initially put forward by my colleague Sarah Owen proposed sensible noise and date restrictions – bringing the maximum noise level down from 120db to 90db – and for all fireworks to be more carefully regulated. The Government has consulted on these measures over the summer. 

Let’s be clear. No–one is suggesting a ban here – just a sensible compromise that would make a real difference. So let’s keep the event, keep the fun – but let’s also try to remember that there are others who really do not find this time of year enjoyable.

We need to watch out for those people, too.