MP backs St George's day public holiday

1.26.38pm GMT Mon 6th Mar 2006

Flag of St George

Cheadle MP, Mark Hunter, has joined growing calls for St George's Day to be made a national holiday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already joined the St George's Day campaign on the internet and now MPs have entered the debate by submitting a motion to Parliament calling for the day to be recognised officially.

Mark Hunter was pleased to sign up to the motion.

Said Mark, "There are plenty of good reasons to introduce a new bank holiday in England. After all, we do work the longest hours in Europe whilst also having the fewest bank holidays. And it would finally give England's patron saint the sort of recognition enjoyed by national figures in other nations."

"For too long England's national symbols have been hijacked by hooligans and fundamentalists. A national holiday for St George's day would help us remember real English values like tolerance, honesty and enterprise."