| National Saints' Days |
The case for: More and more people are celebrating their national days across Britain. Perhaps in England some on the far right have tried to claim St George's Day, but it's clear they've lost this argument. As Trevor Phillips of the Commission for Racial Equality says: "When I was a boy, the word 'English' used to mean 'white'. No more". These days give us a chance as other countries do to celebrate a national day.
The case against: Holidays on a Monday are better as they allow you to take a long weekend. Business won't like holidays on different days in different parts of the UK. It's all maybe just a bit too nationalist.
| Autumn half term |
The case for: It comes right in the middle of the long gloomy stretch between summer and Christmas - that's a whole 16 tedious weeks without any other public holiday, when the rest of the year is already pretty well stocked with them. It will always be on a Monday allowing a long weekend. Parents will like it as they'll get an extra day with their children (or maybe that's a case against...)
The case against: The weather will be even worse than other bank holidays. It probably won't give much of a boost to the leisure and tourist industries if people stay at home and watch the rain outside. There's nothing special to celebrate.
| New Year's Eve |
The case for: People need New Year's Eve off to get ready for going out in the evening. A lot of people take this day off as annual leave, so if it were a new bank holiday, we'd have an extra day to take when we chose.
The case against: Many people get this day off already, and for some it might not mean an extra day off.
| International Women's Day |
The case for: Women still earn significantly less than men in many jobs, and face discrimination in many areas of work. A dedicated day to focus on the issues would raise awareness of a problem which doesn't get enough discussion. A number of other countries already recognise International Women's Day as a holiday, so we'd be involved in an international celebration.
The case against: It's in early March, so some years may be close to the bank holidays we already have around Easter, and besides the weather's not great at that time of year. "It's political correctness gone mad", to borrow a phrase from the Daily Mail.
| An extra variable day |
The case for: This gives us a chance to celebrate important national events together with a days extra holiday. We have done this recently for the Millennium and Golden Jubilee, and it worked okay. Variety is the proverbial spice of life.
The case against: It's harder to plan when the dates may change. Governments may not always honour any pledge to grant an extra bank holiday each year. Whatever gets chosen will probably upset somebody, and we'll need a huge public commission every year to decide between 100 worthy cases.
| No extra bank holidays |
The case for: Okay, we can't think of a case for this option, but Director General of the CBI, Digby Jones, has said: "Bank holidays may not be a legal right but the overwhelming majority of UK employers give them in addition to annual leave. We all like the idea of more time off, but most people understand that can't come without cost".
The case against: We don't get as many days off as our European neighbours,
and they still manage to be more productive than us. We'll probably get just as
much work done if we are a bit more rested and refreshed. As we get more prosperous
as a country we should take some of that with more time for ourselves and our
families.
