British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the Government, are hugely unpopular amongst the people at the moment, but one thing that the British public do agree with Brown on is the introduction of a new national holiday - British Day.
Britain has fewer bank holidays than its European counterparts and the British people work longer hours than other Europeans, but the new British Day, which will be Britain's equivalent of Independence Day or Bastille Day, will be introduced in 2009. No date has yet been given for the day to be celebrated on, but it'll look like it'll be celebrated at some point every summer.
88% of the British public back a British Day.
88% of the nation want to celebrate... GB DAY
8th June 2008
By Nigel Nelson Political Editor
Nigel.Nelson@People.Co.Uk
The People
Britain has fewer bank holidays than its European counterparts and the British people work longer hours than other Europeans, but the new British Day, which will be Britain's equivalent of Independence Day or Bastille Day, will be introduced in 2009. No date has yet been given for the day to be celebrated on, but it'll look like it'll be celebrated at some point every summer.
88% of the British public back a British Day.
88% of the nation want to celebrate... GB DAY
8th June 2008
By Nigel Nelson Political Editor
Nigel.Nelson@People.Co.Uk
The People
Gordon Brown will introduce the first British Day next year.
And the Prime Minister is working to persuade industry to make it a full bank holiday.
This will delight People readers, who this week backed our campaign for an extra day off by voting 88 per cent in favour in surveys in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.
Although our readers preferred dates in April or September, the Premier is likely to opt for summer when people are already on holiday to minimise the cost to the economy.
It will boost Mr Brown's flagging popularity. And it will fulfil his pledge while Chancellor under Tony Blair to match France's Bastille Day and Independence Day in America.
He asked: "What is our equivalent for a national celebration of who we are and what we stand for?"
Immigration minister Liam Byrne last week added his support, suggesting a tie-in with the August bank holiday. But he confirmed other dates had been mentioned by the public.
He said the Queen's birthday (21st April), All Saints' Day (1st November), St George's Day (23rd April) and anniversaries of the battles of Hastings (14th October) and Trafalgar (21st October) had been put forward.
Empire Day (second Monday in March) and a commemoration of the signing of the Magna Carta (15th June) have also been suggested.
And 500,000 people signed an online petition on the No.10 website for a holiday to remember our war dead, like America's Veterans Day.
Britain has only eight bank holidays, half that of Italy. Iceland has 15, and Spain and Portugal 14. In the 1820s the Bank of England recognised 33, but that was cut to four in 1834.
The cost of an extra one is estimated at £2billion, although killjoys at the Confederation of British Industry say it is more likely to be £6billion.
But lost production could be offset by extra spending in DIY stores or on people having a good time.
And health experts say we would work better if we had more time off.
people.co.uk