BIG BEN TO BE RENAMED QUEEN ELIZABETH TOWER

To mark the queen's diamond jubilee on the throne, Parliamentary authorities are now expected to support the calls to rename the Clock Tower as “The Elizabeth Tower” when they meet in a few weeks... continue after the jump!

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continued...David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are among senior figures from all three major parties who backed the proposal for Parliament to bestow the tribute to the Monarch.

331 MPs, from a total of 650, now support the campaign, which is also understood to have backing from the Cabinet Office and Buckingham Palace.

Also an additional 40 MPs have signed a Commons early day motion calling for the east tower at the Palace of Westminster to be formally named "The Elizabeth Tower".

Other MPs backing the idea include the William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary.

Former Home Secretaries David Blunkett, Jack Straw as well as Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor also support the proposal as does Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws and Chris Huhne .

The House of Commons Commission, Parliament’s governing body, is set to meet at the end of the month, when it is expected to agree to the proposal.

Subject to commission approval, the proposal will be formally presented to the Palace.

A renaming ceremony would then follow, in which the Queen would be invited to attend.

It mirrors a tribute bestowed on Queen Victoria, the present Queen's great-great grandmother, and the only other monarch in history to mark a Diamond Jubilee.

The tower at the other end of the Palace of Westminster, originally known as the King’s Tower, was renamed the Victoria Tower in her honour.

MPs are said to accept the tower will still be known colloquially as Big Ben, the name of the famous bell it houses but say the tower itself should carry the present Queen's name in perpetuity.

Tobias Ellwood, a parliamentary private secretary at the Foreign Office who proposed the idea, said he was delighted by the support of more than half of all MPs – a key threshold identified by the authorities.

“I am extremely pleased that colleagues from across the House, both front and back bench, have supported this initiative,” he said.

“Commemorating an iconic landmark as famous as Parliament is indeed a truly exceptional tribute and I am grateful that the majority of MPs believe the Queen deserves such an outstanding accolade.

“It therefore seems entirely appropriate for Parliament to pay tribute to Her Majesty with a similar honour, and in symmetry, to that bestowed upon Queen Victoria, by dedicating part of the iconic Parliamentary estate in her name.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It is great news that so many MPs from across the House are backing what would be a fitting tribute to the Queen. I hope it will now move ahead.’

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, added: “It’s fantastic news that the majority of MPs, including the Labour front bench, are supporting the idea of the Clock Tower being renamed in honour of Her Majesty the Queen.

“Queen Elizabeth has dedicated herself tirelessly and constantly to the people of Britain and the entire Commonwealth. Parliament has agreed that this is a fitting tribute to her life of service and I hope it can be confirmed as soon as possible.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, also said: ‘I’m pleased to see that hundreds of MPs are getting behind the excellent idea of renaming the tower in honour of The Queen.

“The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is an occasion that the whole country is keen to celebrate, and Members of Parliament are no exception.

“I hope the House applies [to Buckingham Palace] to name this historic tower after Her Majesty.”

Spokesmen for the Cabinet Office or Buckingham Palace have not publicly commented.