May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government

Subject: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 08:09 AM

UK bank holiday - uk.style.yahoo.com/why-may-bank-holiday-2020-100400620.html To celebrate VE day - Friday May 8th 2020 (seems to be a BH). Why is 70 significant when 50 or 60 was not?
Can anyone think why a Conservative Government would want to disrupt what is seen as a labour day? And do it at an inopportune time! The UK is only now connecting that their plans set up more than a year in advance (to secure the venues/performers on a busy weekend) are meaningless. Weddings, hotel bookings, taking kids out of school etc all will be affected.

I first came across this because the May Hey Days w/e in Evesham has suspended ticket sales and is debating how to handle the disruption because they have to retain the weekend due to performers commitments (and contracts). They hire a school and Monday will be schoolday. And having a Folk Dance would be - er - um - come to think of it, a particularly good education. Team cooperation, following instructions, exercising to music, and socialising without screens.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mo the caller
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 08:44 AM

"Why is 70 significant when 50 or 60 was not?"
It fits with the mood of the times. We won the war, we beat the Germans. Trafalgar Day bank holiday anyone?
Government by good idea. How about a Garden Bridge to celebrate.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 09:00 AM

In fact they did move the bank holiday for the 50th Anniversary of VE day, from Monday 1st May 1995 to the 8th May. But they announced it well in advance, in December 1993.

This time, because of the shorter notice, big festivals such as Hastings Jack In The Green and Rochester Sweeps Festival are adversely affected along with many other festivals and other events such as weddings. Planning for Sweeps and Jack in the Green was already well underway and non-recoverable fees have been paid to local councils for road closure applications etc.

I have no problem at all in marking the 75th anniversary of VE day but it needs to be a separate public holiday.

LFF

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 09:38 AM

Golden rule of warfare and politics.

Open up another front.

People now have to deal with this and put aside the machinations of Brexshit. When the full import comes home to roost, and the mess may be temporary (say 10 years or 30 according to some female politician) there will be other fronts opened up. Distractions, "good days to bury bad news" kinda stylee (all Govs do it).
At the moment it is a Tory leadership thing, but at the end of the day there will be loosers, and more of them than not. And it will need a huge propaganda machine to ameliorate the ire of those who will see what they are loosing. Yea yea there will be gains, small beer to latch on to. But the pound in your pocket is already devalued. And even the governor of the Bank of England is warning which way the pound will take - a pounding.

The reason for 70th and not 75 or 100 is.......... see above.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 09:40 AM

BTW a lot of "so called" Bank Holiday predictor websites haven't realised yet - and there is no way to warn them IME. I have tried on two.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: GUEST,Peter
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 09:52 AM

I see that the official .gov.uk website has finally updated its list of bank holidays. As it took several days to align that with the announcement it is clear that Greg Clark had given zero consideration to the impact of the change.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Jos
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 01:05 PM

Maybe we should just have two bank holidays.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Jos
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 02:02 PM

I found this one, though it doesn't mention TWO bank holidays, just asking for 4 May to be retained.


https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/242483

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: GUEST,Some bloke
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 03:11 PM

I hold no candle for a corrupt government.

However, the reasons to hold them to account are hidden or trivialised when straw men like this are put forward. Just because new tanks were driven round Red Square in a different country on 1 May doesn't mean this was done to wind up Corbyn.

I'm all for spacing out holidays and whilst this one is a bit contrived, it starts an idea where perhaps we can space them out better in future instead of basing them around an irrelevant religion that buggers up planning for most people and companies. Easter moving around all the time and other medieval days all being around the same time? Nonsense.

I don't agree with the reasons for this one but I like the idea of looking at when holidays are in general and spacing them out better.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mo the caller
Date: 13 Jun 19 - 04:54 PM

I wouldn't approve of the government 'giving' an extra bank holiday. Not them that pays for it but small business etc.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 06:58 AM

May day is the 1st of May .The government havent cancelled that just change an arbitrary day

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 06:58 AM

Small business is already paying a lot for the loss of the orignal holiday. As the organisers of any festival or wedding planned for that weekend.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mo the caller
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 09:01 AM

Yes, to both guests.
Maybe it is time to reconsider Bank Holidays. They were brought in at a time when people worked 6 days a week for most weeks in the year. Times have changed.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Howard Jones
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 12:02 PM

I've written to my MP. I have no objection to commemorating VE Day (my father and grandfather fought in the War) but this comes at too short notice. This will disrupt a lot of public and private events - the BBC website carried a piece about a couple whose wedding will be disrupted, and they will not be alone. The effect on folk festivals and similar events is obvious - my band Albireo is booked to perform at Evesham MayHeyDays so we're waiting to see what happens. The school has to go the LEA to decide what days it can open.

As well as the events and individuals affected, all their suppliers will be affected. They will face cancellations for May 4 and may have lost the opportunity to charge bank holiday rates for the new date. Anyone who booked their wedding on May 8 at a cheap rate (venues charge more at weekends, and especially bank holidays) will have got a real bargain.

This idea was proposed by the Business Secretary without any thought to the effect it will have on small businesses, including festivals and events. But when the government is apparently willing to totally screw business over Brexit, this is small beer.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 12:09 PM

I think the Gov have decided in a very cynical way. Brexshit will cost, will be disruptive, this is to give people something non-Brexshit to deal with. A distraction, a diversion, a weakening of resolve, a dilution of peoples' time. They have thought about it IMNSHO, and it is tactical.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 03:10 PM

So will the tories remember to reprint their own offical party calendars and diaries for 2020...

That'll be hilarious if come next year they realise they forgot to...

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Jos
Date: 15 Jun 19 - 07:26 AM

Academic diaries run from September to August the following year. Those for 2019 to 2020 were being prepared in 2018 to be in the shops now. Too late to change them.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 15 Jun 19 - 11:40 AM

I buy my mum an A4 Academic diary from Tesco every year.
It helps with her dementia.
I need to check if the new stock is in, or delayed for revision...???

Tories, the party for business that doesn't care if it f@cks up businesses..

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 15 Jun 19 - 12:00 PM

Good thing they didn't amend it to read May Month.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: RTim
Date: 15 Jun 19 - 12:01 PM

I would rather get rid of the Current and any Future Tory Government first - May Day will look after itself in good time - it has before!

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 16 Jun 19 - 06:32 AM

It's not about socialism or communism. It was about long before they were.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: David Carter (UK)
Date: 16 Jun 19 - 11:21 AM

VE day to me is just another day on which my father was still fighting in the far east, and people at home didn't give a monkeys.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 17 Jun 19 - 08:37 AM

This is something for the trade unions to pick up on, if employees choose to take 4th May. If employers allow an addiitoanl bank holiday,then no problem. Anyway, surely we should be commemorating the 71st anniversary of the D-day landings (without Trump using it as an opportunity to drag the event into the gutter like he did this year by scoring political points using war graves as a back drop). If the heads of state can't be bothered, then we will all be able to see what their attitude towards people who laid down their lives really is.

Subject: RE: May Day 2020 is cancelled, by government
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 17 Jun 19 - 08:48 AM

Surely it makes more sense to have a bank holiday to commemorate the 73rd anniversary VE day on 8th May 2023. 73 years of peace in Western Europe if far more significant than 70. If the Eurosceptics and the far right drag Europe back into conflict before then we can start counting from scratch again.

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