Kernow: St Piran?s Day Campaign Gets Council Boost

It was decided at a full council meeting yesterday (29/11/11) that Lys Kernow/Cornwall Council write to the Westminster Government to recommend that St Piran's Day become an annual public holiday in Cornwall.

The development is a positive result for a campaign that the Kernow Branch of the Celtic League has been lobbying Lys Kernow on for a number of years, with one marked difference. Whereas the Kernow Branch has campaigned for St Piran's Day to be recognised as a annual public holiday without exception, Lys Kernow has recommended to the government that St Piran's Day should only become an annual holiday on the principle that the current May Day Bank holiday should be changed.

In addition, Lys Kernow also recommended to the government that they should consult on the replacement of the May Bank Holiday and that the Chief Executive of the Council should consider how best to consult the Cornish public on the change from a May Bank Holiday to a St Piran's Bank holiday earlier in the year.

Last week `Visit Cornwall' predicted that if St Piran's Day became an annual public holiday in Cornwall, it could mean a £20-£35 million boost to the Cornish economy. The head of tourism at Visit Cornwall said that having a different public holiday to England would make Cornwall stand out, saying:

It's quite a strong marketing message because people like to go somewhere different but familiar.

The move to replace the May Day Holiday with a St Piran's Day Holiday stems from a White Paper the Westminster Government published in March 2011, where it was suggested that the May Bank holiday could be replaced with another bank holiday.

In February 2011, the Kernow Branch set up the first Lys Kernow electronic petition calling on the Council to debate the issue of recommending to the Westminster government about making St Piran's day an annual public holiday. The rules of the petition scheme are that if 5000 signatures are gained within a year of the petition being set up, the issue will be debated at a full council meeting.

With the issue now having been debated and the recommendation to Westminster made, it would seem that the petition is now redundant, but the Branch plans to confirm this with policy advisors at the Council over the next few days.

Link:

Lys Kernow/Cornwall Council E-Petition
(voir le site) P2ID3011201165949

White Paper
(voir le site)

For comment or clarification on this news item in the first instance contact:

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, General Secretary, Celtic League:

Tel: 0044 (0)1209 319912
M: 0044 (0)7787318666

gensec@celticleague.net

The General Secretary will determine the appropriate branch or General Council Officer to respond to your query.

ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE.

30/11/11