New Welsh Secretary David TC Davies rejects calls for St David’s Day Bank Holiday
The new Welsh Secretary David TC Davies has rejected calls for a Bank Holiday to celebrate St David’s Day, putting him at odds with Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd and the previous Welsh secretary Sir Robert Buckland.
Sir Robert, who was replaced by Mr Davies in Rishi Sunak’s new Cabinet, had suggested another holiday could be scrapped to make the Bank Holiday happen.
The South Swindon MP told S4C’s Y Byd yn ei Le programme: “My personal view would be get rid of May Day, and have St David’s Day as our bank holiday, and it would be a nice quid pro pro.”
Andrew RT Davies called for St David’s Day to be made a bank holiday in Wales earlier this year, putting him at odds with the UK Government who opposed creating a new bank holiday.
The idea of a St David’s Day bank holiday was also backed by the Welsh Conservatives’ party’s culture and tourism spokesman in the Senedd, Tom Giffard, who said it could have “huge potential economic and cultural benefits”.
Status quo
Speaking to a Commons committee today, David TC Davies, said there were “advantages” with the status quo, adding that he thought his own children would have played video games instead of celebrating Welsh culture had St David’s Day been a bank holiday.
“This isn’t something I’d ever be stepping out of cabinet over, whatever happens. I accept the government position as it is,” he said.
“On balance I support it. There are some advantages to not having a bank holiday.”
He said he had been into school to see his three children celebrate St David’s Day. “I’ve been there a few times to watch them dancing, singing and stuff.”
“I suspect had they not been in school, rather than celebrating this wonderful part of Welsh culture and enjoying a little bit of the language and the dancing, there might have been a tendency to flop around on the sofa and mess around with the PlayStation.
“I’d much rather they’d be celebrating Welsh culture.”
David TC Davies was appointed Welsh Secretary last week after his predecessor’s resignation.
The Monmouth MP has been a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales at the Welsh Office since December 2019.
He also backed Rishi Sunak in the latest leadership contest, after formerly backing Liz Truss in September.
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quote “adding that he thought his own children would have played video games instead of celebrating Welsh culture had St David’s Day been a bank holiday.” Children were playing video games on the day of the Queens funeral, so his point is invalid. Furthermore in the 2000s the then Welsh Assembly voted unanimously in favour of a St Davids Day Bank Holiday in which he was an Assembly member at the time. If the Tories oppose Wales having a Bank Holiday on St Davids Day then they should strip Scotland and N Ireland the power to establish Bank Holidays on… Read more »
But that is the point, Wales IS a second class nation. And will continue to be so until Gwyl Dewi has become a bank holiday.
Until Wales becomes an independent sovereign state actually.
Annibyniaeth!
I am not opposed to independence but demanding equality and respect for our country is a different issue altogether then advocating independence. How many times have I heard someone standing up for Wales get shouted down and branded a ‘nationalist’, ‘anti-English’ racist, or get a response like “what does it matter we are all British?” We need to stop confusing the issue, and we will continue to be a second class country as long as we allow ourselves to be.
How can a Saint’s day be moved to May? March 1st is an anniversary of canonisation not a movable feast like easter, may bank holiday within a Welsh sensibility is much older heralding the arrival of summer, harking back to our pre christian roots.
Mr Buckland nor Mr Davies are ill equiped (being tory thus they will be commited to purgatory) interfering with church matters such as Gwyl Dewi Sant.
Surely the schools will continue to celebrate Dydd Gŵyl Dewi on the nearest school day, just as they do now if it falls over the weekend!
Offcourse it will…. well said Ann!
David TC Davies is against anything that give Wales an identity. No surprise he is against it, he’s against everything Welsh
He voted against extending free school meals to hungry children and for dumping sewage into Welsh rivers. He is against humanity and compassion.
Regardless of what he says, TC does not want us to have a St David’s’ Day bank holiday because it is a critical first step towards ‘legitimising’ Cymru as a nation giving it parity with Scotland. We must have it and then, before the next UK election and long before the next Senedd election, we must have the right to hold and quote our proper nationality at all times and on all official documents taking us to the precipice of independence. There is now a threat of a resurgence of Britnat parties due to the Tory circus. If that is… Read more »
He is no different to past secretaries of state for Wales……. totally against doing Wales any favours. Why he is needed is a mystery.
Is this the same David Davies who when Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee concurred with his members view that there was a case for a national holiday on March 1st ?
it took over 12 years for this fella to be Wesh Secretary, talk about scraping the barrel. #Toryincompetance
Little Englander David TC Davies hates the idea of Wales being a country in its own right. He’s a self-harming Anglophile. It seems only the Welsh denied the right to celebrate their own patron saint, not the Scots or Northern Irish , it applies only to us like every other bloody excuse brought out by Whitehall, be it powers over our Criminal& Youth Justice System, Crown Estate, Policing etc… all devolved or controlled by England , Scotland & Northern Ireland but not Wales. As our so-called “Welsh” voice at the UK Government cabinet table doesn’t fight for our rights &… Read more »
Are you sure he is Welsh?
Well, he was born in London.
Their determination to stamp on our national identity just provides us with the ammunition we need. I hate their for Wales see England mentality. Its utterly disrespectful and consequently will be ultimately counterproductive to their forced assimilation agenda.
The Office for ‘National’ Statistics is a great example of how this lumping us in with England approach jjust doesnt work. Crime figures, most popular children’s names … drowning out our identity in the sea of their grey mediocrity.
Is this the same David Davies who when Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee who was refered to by other members of said committee as believing in aliens?
I have to agree with Mr Davies,that is what children would do,I wold have done the same in the 1950’s had video games been available,I did spend many a St.David’s day i n the 60s and 70’sat in the pub.The people who comment on here may not like that but members of the FWA were quite partial to that pastime.
The purpose of a bank or public holiday is that no one should be obligated to do anything that they are not obligated to do so on any other non-working day. If children want to play video games all day on St Davids Day then so be it, Its not for me and you to say otherwise. I don’t hear anyone complaining about kid’s playing video games all day on May Day, Easter or Christmas. Kids in America play video games all day on Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. A day off on our national day should be a right… Read more »
Another embarrasing Tory…. Probably in favour of a Thatcher day holiday.
I look forward to hearing his views on the recently announced Bank Holiday for King Charles’s Coronation next year.