Is it time to stop the Bank Holidays? Have they had their day in 21st-century Britain?

It is by no means a new debate – far less so a suggestion – but have bank holidays had their day in 21st century Britain?

Initiated by the Victorians in 1871, under an Act of Parliament brought before the House by the banker (of course) Sir John Lubbock, they were not, as it turns out, dates associated with the Christian faith.

Many of them pre-date Christ and therefore have their roots in paganism.

With the world in which we now live, do bank holidays do anything for society beyond putting the brakes on business and choking the roads with traffic as people flock to the coast or travel between loved ones, re-enacting the procedure in reverse two days later?

The days of us all going on holiday vanished long before the arrival of Covid-19. With the decline in the country’s manufacturing ability, the need to shut down factories employing vast numbers of people disappeared too.

And with a general rise in our standard of living, so has come our ability to choose for ourselves where, with whom and how we spend our free time.

It is true that in some industries – Formula 1 being one in particular with implications for this county – the so called ‘factory fortnight’ still exists, but it is in a minority.

With that rise in our standard of living has also come the freedom to take holidays as and when we can fit them into our schedules.

At one stage – when I worked for a bank, funnily enough – there was a seasonality to the calendar for the funding of holidays.

Generally this wasn’t big business, but at the same time it was accepted that the British wouldn’t dream of not taking a family holiday.

Even now, with enforced coronavirus downtime, there is still a market for the staycation if not holidays abroad still, quarantine or no quarantine.

Whether there is enough of a market to save the major carriers on land, sea and in the air remains to be seen, but the desire is certainly there and I completely share in that.

But what of the single day or extended weekend created by a traditional bank holiday?

Are they in the right places to reflect modern Britain? The constituent countries making up the union of Britain share some, but by no means all, bank holidays – leading to a mismatch when it comes to doing business.

The cost of shutting a business down in a 24/7, 365 day global economy – even for one day – has knock-on effects for the wider financial markets.

It’s not just the UK either.

India and Colombia give their populations 18 days off, while Japan has 16 and Finland has 15 days. Only Mexico has fewer public holidays than Britain, with seven.

In 2012, a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think tank estimated that each bank holiday costs the British economy £2.3bn through lost productivity – so the greater part of £20bn in total. It’s likely that that figure is now higher.

Bank holidays are an expensive luxury perhaps, but they do bring a surge in certain local economies.

They’re said to be good for mental wellbeing and we certainly look forward to them.

Are they spread out correctly across the year, though, and do they reflect our modern, wider community?

Perhaps we should have more of them, celebrating something other than pagan feast days. How about an NHS Day? An Armed Forces Day? A national day to celebrate Eid or Diwali? The candidates are numerous and I’m sure the debate would be lively.

2020... time to rethink?