England team Sweden match© Photo: Rex

There could be an extra bank holiday if England win the World Cup

So fans can celebrate properly if England bring it home…

Lifestyle Features Editor
July 11, 2018

Just like Prince Harry, we don't want to jinx it, BUT… England are the closest they've been to a World Cup victory in 28 years, and now fans are already planning how they'll celebrate if they win the tournament on Sunday. So much so that the government is set to debate whether to give the nation an extra bank holiday on Monday, after an online petition was signed by over 200,000 people.

The petition, created by Liam Betson, says that all those supporting England need a bank holiday as "the next day will not be pleasant for all fans". After surpassing the threshold of 100,000 signatures Parliament will now have to consider debating the idea, and we're sure it would be a very welcome decision with football fans across the country if they voted in favour of an extra day off!

© Photo: Rex

The government is set to debate whether to give the nation an extra bank holiday

The process for any petition to end up making it into law can take several months, so it would be unlikely that any decision would be finalised in time for Monday 16 July. However, it would be possible to arrange a national holiday at a later date, or Prime Minister Theresa May could decide to declare one herself.

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While Theresa hasn't yet shared her opinion on the matter, earlier this month Jeremy Corbyn said he would want the whole UK to get a day off if England secure their first World Cup win since 1966. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But I think it is the case that Jeremy believes that if England were to win the World Cup there should be a public bank holiday in celebration," a senior Labour spokesman said.

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They added: "The World Cup is a very special international competition. It's something that brings people together on a very large scale and we need recognition of that and recognition of the importance of football in the country."

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But first there's just the small matter of England securing a place in the final! Gareth Southgate's team will play Croatia on Wednesday evening, with the winner going on to play against France in the World Cup 2018 final on Sunday afternoon.

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