Kmflett's Blog

London Historians Group

Media Release

3rd August

Contact Dr Keith Flett keithbeard.bsky.social

Historians call for review of August Bank Holiday date

The London Socialist Historians Group, which organises the socialist history seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, has called for a review of the date of the August Bank Holiday.

The 1871 Bank Holidays Act fixed the date as the first Monday in August. This remains the case for Scotland. However from 1965 to 1971 the holiday was moved to the last August of the month in England and Wales following a campaign by the travel industry and the TUC amongst others.

The logic was that a Bank Holiday at the start of August after schools broke up led to huge demand for holidays which caused increased cost for holidaymakers. A Bank Holiday at the end of August was meant to spread the holiday period over the entire month.

However the historians say that following the Bank Holiday being moved permanently to the last Monday it has simply caused peak demand to move from the beginning to the end of the month.

An on-line poll run by the historians in 2023 showed support for two Bank Holidays in August at the beginning and the end of the month.

LSHG Convenor Dr Keith Flett said, the argument always is that Bank Holidays cost the economy money. In reality they provide a boost to the travel, retail and hospitality industries. Britain has the fewest Bank Holidays of any country across Europe and it’s time for the 1971 decision on the August Bank Holiday to be looked at again.