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Daily Mail condemns ‘nationalists’ wanting St David’s Day bank holiday – while also calling for St George’s bank holiday

19 Jan 2022 3 minute read
Part of the St. David’s Day parade, Cardiff. Picture by Gareth Jmes (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The Daily Mail has condemned the “nationalists” requesting a St David’s Day bank holiday for Wales – while also calling for a St George’s Day bank holiday for England.

The newspaper said that “nationalists in Gwynedd Council’s cabinet in north-west Wales” had “voted to shut its buildings and wind down its services on March 1” in plans due to cost up to £200,000.

But the news service also asked why England could not have its own bank holiday, saying that the “development has raised questions about why the English should not be allowed to enjoy a bank holiday for St George”.

The Daily Mial had previously criticised plans for a St David’s Day bank holiday in Wales, claiming on Mondy that taxpayers would be “coughing up” so that “Welsh nationalists” can have “an extra day off”.

“Taxpayers face coughing up £200,000 for a council staff to get a day off for the Welsh patron saint – after the government refused the extra holiday,” they said.

“Welsh nationalists want to mark St David’s Day on March 1 with the special day off work on top of bank holidays. But Boris Johnson’s Government rejected the request because too many people commute across the Wales and English border to work.”

Gwynedd Council voted for the plan despite these objections, at a meeting yesterday.

‘Integration’

The UK Government have previously rejected calls by the Welsh Government and Gwynedd Council to devolve powers over bank holidays or to designate March 1 a bank holiday in Wales.

Yesterday the Welsh Government said that they had asked “time after time” for the power to denote 1 Mawrth a bank holiday.

In October of last year, Gwynedd Council send a letter to UK Government ministers calling for an end to the “embarrassing” anomaly of the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments being able to designate their national days while no such powers are currently devolved to Cardiff Bay.

But in a letter Paul Scully MP, the Minster for Small Business, poured cold water on any additional Bank Holiday for Wales.

Writing in response to the council’s request, Mr Scully noted, “While we appreciate that the people of Wales want to celebrate their patron saint, more people work across the English/Welsh border than across the English/Scottish border.

“This closer degree of integration could cause greater business disruption. If we had separate bank holidays in England and Wales, the impact on both employees and businesses is difficult to predict.”


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Erisian
Erisian
2 years ago

The ‘writers’ Daily Mail (I cannot bring myself to refer to them as journalists) wouldn’t recognise a double standard if it sat on their faces and wriggled.

Ed Jones
Ed Jones
2 years ago

From the paper that championed the Nazis…

defaid
defaid
2 years ago
Reply to  Ed Jones

That was a long time ago, though. Nowadays, the paper is very different… It’s moved much further to the right.

Lolly Mountjoy
Lolly Mountjoy
2 years ago

It’s just more of the same old same old there’s always going to be some excuse. Recently it’s been the fact that people work over the border. It is telling that no sooner do Westminster say no that another petition is set up.
Well done Gwynedd Council hopefully all the others will follow suit.

Phil
Phil
2 years ago

The English could have a ‘Bring your own booze to work’ day instead of a Bank Holiday… better suited to their culture.

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

We in wales have got to stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh kick all English party’s out of wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 I always have St David day of and my workers have the day off to we haven’t worked on St David day for over 30
Year’s it’s time for a New Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

arthur owen
arthur owen
2 years ago
Reply to  Grayham Jones

When I worked I used to take the afternoon off on March 1st and spent it in the pub.If I had worked for you Grayham I could have done that every year and be in the pub an hour or so earlier..Iechyd da gyfaill.

Dewi Davies
Dewi Davies
2 years ago

It really is hilarious reading the comment section on this subject in the Mail.The english tax payers seem to think that they pay for everything on these isles.That being the case can I now expect a rebate for the 50 yrs of tax I’ve paid when I didn’t need to pay any because our benevolent neighbours paid it all?.

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

The srtinking hypocrisy from those far right anglo nationalists. Unbelievable.

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

The thing is, this holiday wouldn’t affect Welsh people working over the border in England, it will just mean a an extra day off for people working in Wales, whichever nationality they are. If you want that extra day off, get a job in Wales. The far right English governments reasoning is pure bs. It will not affect anything in England except a few English people having an extra day of because they work here.Weak argument against it and no-one has ripped it apart yet and explained to people why its pure BS.

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

Are these English whining from London paying council tax in Gwynedd now? How generous of them for paying our council tax as well as their own in their own country.

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

The DM makes no sense (no surprises there – known that for years) wouldn’t the border still be an issue if England gained a St George’s day BH? This is all about control – well it hasn’t worked in Gwynedd and hopefully other councils will follow suit and Wales will finally get its BH whether Westminster likes it or not. By the way – there are taxpayers in Wales too !!!

Gareth Cemlyn Jones
Gareth Cemlyn Jones
2 years ago

These damned nationalists! What next? They’ll be wanting independence or even declaring a Republic! Maybe Dominion status with a Treaty of Association!
Familiar ring to it?

Andy Williams
2 years ago

In the eyes of the London media, we are just a celtic playground or even more insulting, a region called Western England, they would love that.

Dafydd B
Dafydd B
2 years ago

To coin the phrase used by Simon Hart. If it isn’t broken don’t fix it. What an attitude by the Tories towards Wales. Ireland and Scotland have patron Saint days off but not us. Ireland and Scotland benefit from the Crown Estate but not us. England and Scotland have the power over their police forces but not is. Why do we have to legally rely on pocket money from London, they refuse everything that our Parliament want to do for Wales and that bunch of liars in London want us to be grateful for the fact that they subsidise us.… Read more »

R W
R W
2 years ago

Just goes to show that the Daily Fail’s journalists are a bunch of BritNat hypocrites.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

You couldn’t make this up. The Daily Fail refers us Nationalists in a derogatory way for wanting a St’ David’s Day bank holiday, then hypocritically calls for a bank holiday to celebrate their Turkish patron St’ George. Irony.

#DailyMail #EnglishFascistFanzine

Last edited 2 years ago by Y Cymro
Robin
Robin
2 years ago

St George wasn’t even English!

Mawkernewek
Mawkernewek
2 years ago

Calling the Daily Mail a ‘news service’ is being a bit too generous!

I suppose their argument would be that it isn’t nationalist to have St. Georges Day because he was a Cappadocian Greek from present day Turkey, whose dragon slaying supposedly happened in Silene in Libya.

Argol Fawr!
Argol Fawr!
2 years ago
Reply to  Mawkernewek

Did St George even exist? I thought he was made up.

John Howard Edwards
John Howard Edwards
2 years ago

St Andrew’s day is a national holiday in Scotland. St Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Wales and England each have 8 days of public holidays during the year. Scotland gets 9, and Northern Ireland gets 10 public holidays – they have Orangemen’s day on 12 July.
(Source: UK government website)
Thus we should be able to have St David’s Day as a public holiday here in Wales.
Having to get permission from the Westminster regime is ridiculous. The right wing Daily Mail is renowned for publishing anti-Wales poison.

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