The news that the prime minister is “highly supportive” of the idea of creating a permanent extra bank holiday is likely to be welcomed by many, even if there is more than a whiff of convenience about the whole thing given the approval rating the PM currently holds. That said, there is some logic to the thinking behind the move with England and Wales currently only having eight bank holidays every year, with Scotland boasting 11 and Northern Ireland 10 in comparison.
However, Scotland and Northern Ireland are still behind the EU average of 12.8 bank holidays per year, so it’s probably time we all got an extra lie-in or two in the coming years.
There is an extra bank holiday on June 3 to mark 70 years of the Queen being on the throne, but a campaign to make the bank holiday permanent is launching Friday, reported the Telegraph.
An insider told the paper: “They are highly supportive of the idea.”
The campaign has been backed by the Confederation of British Industry and the Trade Union Congress among others.
Tony Danker, the Director General of the CBI, told the paper that business was keen to support the idea and to back the campaign.
What do you think of the potential plan to make the extra bank holiday a permanent feature? Would you be supportive of the move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below for the chance to be featured on the ES website tomorrow.