Local MPs call for Cornish public holiday

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Cornwall’s five Liberal Democrat MPs have called for St Piran’s Day to be made a public holiday.

North Cornwall MP, Dan Rogerson, will today table a House of Commons motion welcoming a move by Bodmin, St Columb and Penzance Town Councils to make the day a staff holiday.  MPs have signed up to signal their support for Cornwall’s “unique heritage, language, culture and aspirations”.

There will be celebrations all over Cornwall on March 5, including marches in Bodmin and Truro and events in many other towns across the Duchy.

Mr Rogerson said: “Some Town Councils have led the way. Now it’s time for everyone to get St Piran’s Day as their day to enjoy Cornwall. 

“National bank holidays usually mean large numbers of visitors descend on our towns and villages, whereas a St Piran’s Day holiday for the whole of Cornwall would give us the opportunity to celebrate our heritage and culture, outside the main tourist season: a welcome break for the many who work night and day during the summer.”

Andrew George, MP for the west Cornwall constituency of St Ives and the Isles of Scilly added: “We’re hard working and resourceful. We’re also an enterprising people and we can afford to reward ourselves for our distinctiveness. We’re letting ourselves down if we cannot find time to celebrate the Cornishness of Cornwall. If we want Cornwall to stand out, then we should stand up and say so.”

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