‘Not a colony’: Welsh council defies London to declare St David’s Day holiday

A St David's Day reveller in Cardiff in 2020. Unlike in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales’s saint’s day is not a bank holiday. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

For centuries the citizens of Wales have proudly marked St David’s Day with parades, concerts, flag-waving and the wearing of daffodils. But this year the feast of their patron saint will be celebrated with particular gusto by many, after Gwynedd council bosses defied ministers in London and voted to give up to 5,000 of its workers an extra day off.

While Scotland and Northern Ireland designate a bank holiday to celebrating their patron saints, Wales does not, which has long been a source of discontent.