A TORY MP has put forward a suggestion for a "United Kingdom Day" bank holiday to celebrate "the union of our great four nations as one".
Pro-Brexit backbencher Peter Bone has led the calls for a holiday to honour Brexit, the Union and the Queen, highlighting to Parliament today that countries like France, Sweden, Canada and the US all have their own annual national celebrations.
He has suggested that such an event should take place on the nearest Friday to June 23 – to mark the anniversary of the Brexit vote in 2016.
"It will be called United Kingdom Day," he said.
Bone, MP for Wellingborough, told the chamber: "June 23, 2016 is the day when the United Kingdom voted on our membership of the European Union. It was the largest democratic participation this country has ever seen.
"Why not mark this great democratic event? Mr Speaker, why don’t we celebrate our United Kingdom? We don’t have a day to celebrate that.
"Many countries throughout the world celebrate their national day with a public holiday. For example, in France, they have Bastille Day. Canada have Canada Day. In Sweden, they have National Day of Sweden, and in the US, of course, they have Independence Day. There is no day in the year where we celebrate the union of our great four nations as one United Kingdom.
"I believe this should be corrected, and the people of this country should be able to come together and rejoice as one."
Watch Bone's proposal below:
'Why don't we celebrate our United Kingdom? We don't have a day to celebrate that'
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) March 4, 2020
Tory MP Peter Bone calls for a new bank holiday to celebrate Brexit, the Union and the Queen https://t.co/J2mmr90v02 pic.twitter.com/5LS4ocarNN
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