Proposed Saint David's Day bank holiday
Proposed public holiday in Wales / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi (Sant)) is currently not a bank holiday in Wales. Some Welsh politicians have proposed that St David's Day, a celebration of Welsh identity, observed on 1 March, be designated as a public holiday.
Polls show the proposal to have majority public support in Wales and support of all political parties in the Senedd. The power to designate bank holidays is not devolved in Wales. The UK Government is responsible for designating public holidays in Wales and has refused proposals for either designating the day itself or devolving powers to the Welsh Government, which has expressed support for the proposal.
The UK Government had stated that designating the day would not be feasible due to the large numbers of commuters crossing the England–Wales border, as well as the economic impact of the proposal and no clear support from business groups. The economic costs of an additional bank holiday have been disputed, although not all sectors in the economy may be impacted equally. In response to the UK Government's refusal, some public bodies in Wales have unofficially designated the day to be a holiday for their staff. Supporters argue that it would have benefits to the economy, tourism and Wales' international appeal, as well as making Wales equal to Scotland and Northern Ireland which have their patron saint days be bank holidays.
Wales and England have only eight public holidays, compared to the European average of twelve, Scotland's nine and Northern Ireland's ten. The lower number in England and Wales has been argued as a reason for more bank holidays.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader, alternatively proposed in 2017, that St David's Day, alongside the other three UK nations' patron saint days, become UK-wide holidays rather than only to their respective nations.