At Business Questions today, Andrew Rosindell M.P. rose asking the Leader of the House to allocate Parliamentary time for a debate on affairs relevant to England - as is done for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Also, he asked whether time could be given to discuss St. George's Day becoming a bank holiday.
Along with his regular duties in Parliament, Andrew is Chairman of the Houses of Parliament Branch of the Royal Society of St. George.
I know that the Leader of the House will be looking forward to next Tuesday, 23 April, which is St George’s day, as we celebrate with the Royal Society of St George, hosted by Mr Speaker in Speaker’s House. Will she ensure that we have a debate in Government time about English affairs? We often hear about Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh affairs, but how about a debate on England? Also, can we please have a public holiday for St George’s day, perhaps combined with May day, so that we have one great celebration for our country?
Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford
I thank my hon. Friend for affording us all the opportunity to come to the event that he has put together next week and have a jolly good knees-up to celebrate St George’s day. I hope that he has extended the invitation to many Members, although the SNP spokesperson may not wish to attend, given the comments she made earlier about the English flag, or she might need a little encouragement to do so. He is right that we should be celebrating our national, regional and cultural heritage across the counties of England, and I hope that the event next week will give us the opportunity to do so.
The Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt M.P., Lord President of the Council, Leader of the House of Commons
