Council calls for St David’s Day to be made bank holiday

Caerphilly County Borough Council will lobby both the Welsh Government and UK Government to make St David’s Day a national bank holiday.

In December, the UK Government rejected calls for a St David’s Day Bank Holiday – claiming too many people commute across the Welsh and English border to make it feasible.

In Scotland, St Andrew’s Day is a bank holiday and in Northern Ireland, St Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday.

Plaid Cymru councillor Teresa Parry, who represents the Hengoed ward, said: “The right to call a holiday should be with the Welsh Government and no-one in Westminster should be able to thwart our desire. Wales is being treated as a second class nation and that is appalling.”

An amended motion was passed at the council’s meeting on Wednesday, January 27. The motion stated the council would make representations to the Welsh Government and the UK Government to request a national public holiday.

The original motion called on the council to follow in Gwynedd Council’s footsteps and give council staff the day off on St David’s Day.

The amended motion stated that St David’s Day should be a bank holiday for everyone in Wales, not just council staff.

Council leader Philippa Marsden said: “It would not be right or fair for those employees of CCBC alone to benefit from a public holiday, whilst their family members or neighbours employed elsewhere do not.”

Cllr Colin Mann, Leader of the council’s Plaid Cymru group, expressed his support for the amended motion and said Wales should have a holiday like “our Celtic cousins in Scotland and Ireland”.

Cllr Mann also voiced his belief that England should have a holiday for St George’s Day.

Cllr Parry said: “I am pleased the amended motion received support from all groups within Caerphilly Council’s chamber.”