Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West, called on the UK government to make time to debate calls for Diwali and Eid to be recognised a national holidays across the UK.
“Diwali, like Eid, is not a national public holiday, so for some it will continue to be difficult to get time off to mark this most spiritually significant day,” he told the House of Commons, raising a point of order.
“There need to be a debate in government time, so that those of us who are sympathetic to the campaign for these two days to be made national public holidays can have our case heard by Ministers and, at the very least, get Ministers to work with business organisations to be sympathetic to staff requests for time off to mark these important days,” the Labour Co-operative MP added.
There has been a petition to the House of commons which was debated last year. However there has never been a government debate, with the government always opposing the move.
“I will continue to campaign for Diwali and Eid to be recognised as nationally significant days in the UK,” Thomas later said. “If Ministers are not prepared to have these days marked out as public holidays, they could at the very least work with business organisations so that those who wish to spend this time with their families and, for example, go to the temple will have the support of their employers to do so.”
