The government has denied newspaper reports that plans for a national holiday to celebrate a mythical Britishness have been shelved.
Not surprisingly, the alleged delays in the plans have attracted the usual criticism from those commentators claiming to be patriots. But the real issue is that the United Kingdom has fewer national bank holidays than most European countries. We seem to be hard done by compared to our neighbours.
It would be better if the government created at least not one, but two national holidays, one between September and Christmas, the other between January and March, which at present have the largest gaps without a holiday.
Let’s all campaign for a proper national holiday where the divided people of these islands can really come together, but to celebrate the fact that we can have a(nother) decent day off work.