Because apparently, we Brits can’t just say thank you for this year’s extra bank holiday and enjoy it for what it is, campaigners are now urging the government to make the June 3rd bank holiday a permanent annual event. And it turns out, even the Archbishop of Canterbury is behind the movement.
Introduced this year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – which marks 70 years as monarch – the extra bank holiday provides Brits with a total of nine bank holidays this year, before reverting back to just eight in 2023.
According to the Telegraph, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is on board with the so-called ‘Thank Holiday’ and will be “looking at proposals carefully” as a way to honour the Queen’s devotion to public service. It’s understood that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also behind the extra day off, too, providing high hopes for those who wish to see it become a permanent fixture in the British calendar.
Brendan Cox, who is spearheading the campaign, said: “The last two years have been tough for us all, but we have also seen what we can do when we pull together.
“This is a brilliant, warm, generous country and no one represents that better than our Queen. So what better way to mark the Platinum Jubilee than with a new permanent Thank Holiday – an annual opportunity to come together and celebrate what makes our communities great.”
The campaign has so far garnered public support from celebrities such as Bear Grylls, Deborah Meaden, Lorraine Kelly and Gareth Southgate, proving there may be some traction with this one after all.
One of many who fancies an extra day of boozing next summer? You can find out more about the campaign and register your support here.