Tameside Labour Council leads campaign to make St George's day a public holiday

2009-09-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Labour councillors in Tameside are leading a campaign to make St George’s Day a national holiday.

St George's Day - on 23 April – has failed to take off in the same way as similar patron saint days in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Our hope is that Tameside will lead the rest of the country in making St George’s day special - one to remember.

The decision was confirmed at Tuesday’s full council following a motion put forward by Labour's Cllr Mike Smith on behalf of Tameside’s Labour councillors.

He said: "This council has for many years proudly supported making St George’s Day a special day for local people. As the patron saint of England it is right that Tameside residents are given the chance to mark this day.

However this council now believes that the time is right to take part in the campaign, not just in Tameside but also in Greater Manchester, to make St George’s Day a national public holiday."

The motion was seconded by Cllr Eileen Shorrock who said a petition would be sent to every household in the borough and an internet blog be set up so people could express their views on the plan.

She added: "I think we should celebrate our national day. The Scots, the Welsh, the Irish, the Americans do so why not us?"

In terms of making St George’s Day a national holiday it’s clearly up to MPs in Parliament however we ask everyone to sign our petition and get the campaign up and running.

Make Saint George's Day a public holiday

Tameside Labour Council leads campaign to make St George's day a public holiday