Bank holidays in the UK are fewer than in most of Europe

The country should get a bank holiday if England were to win the World Cup on Sunday, both the Labour leader and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have argued.

In what would be a major moment in football history for England, a win for England’s women should be honoured with an extra day off, the TUC has argued.

This was backed by Labour leader Keir Starmer who wrote: “It’s almost 60 years since England won the World Cup.

“I’m never complacent about anything…but there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home.”

However, the government have said there are ‘no plans’ for an extra day off if the Lionesses secure a victory on Sunday, which millions of households are expected to watch at 11am. The government emphasised that, “the current pattern of public and bank holidays is well established and there are no plans to change this.”

But the TUC has called on Rishi Sunak to reconsider and, ‘do the right thing’ by giving the country a bank holiday if the Lionesses prove victorious.  

The union body has made a compelling argument as to why we should get a bank holiday – if just getting an extra day off work wasn’t argument enough.

Going up against Spain in the final, the TUC pointed out that their opposition gets four more bank holidays than England, with fellow finalists Spain getting the European average of 12 public holidays a year.

This compares to the eight days of bank holiday in England and Wales. Whilst our French neighbours get three additional days a year and Sweden receives 13 days, the equivalent to any extra week off.

Boasting the most bank holidays are Slovakia, Slovenia and Finland with 15 days each – nearly twice as many as in Britain. 

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said they had long called for more public holidays and that this was the time to make it happen.

“We all hope our amazing Lionesses can get over the line on Sunday,” said Nowak. “And if they do bring it home the government should do the right thing and allow the country to celebrate with a special bank holiday.

He added: “It would be mean-spirited not to do so.”

Previous near-wins by the England team have similarly resulted in calls for a bank holidays, including in a petition launched when England got into the Euro 2020 finals, which received over 360,000 signatures.

However the total cost of a bank holiday has been previously estimated at £1.2 billion by the TUC, which includes the economic benefits of a public holiday to the tourism, retail, transport and hospitality sectors. Whilst the government has estimated the cost at £2.9 billion based on estimates for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

But with Britain bottom of the European league when it comes to bank holidays, an extra days’ holiday to mark a historic victory if England were to win the World Cup feels worth the ask.

(Photo credit: Sky News / YouTube)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

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