British MPs are set to hold a debate in the Parliament later this month on whether Hindu and Muslim religious occasions such as Diwali and Eid should be made public holidays, following public calls for change, through petitions submitted to Parliament.

Thousands of e-petitions

Over 45,000 people signed a petition on the Parliament’s e-petition website, calling for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha to be made public holidays while over 11,000 have signed a petition to make Diwali and Dussera as public holidays. The petitions noted that despite both religions accounting for sizable sections of the British community (the 2011 census said there were 2.7 million Muslims, or 4.8% of the UK population, while there are 817,000 Hindus or 1.5%) there are no public holidays that recognised their religions.

The government rejected both petitions earlier this year, pointing to the “considerable” costs that would be involved.

“The cost of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee holiday was around £1.2 billion,” said the government in statements to both petitions.

However, the Parliament’s Petitions Committee, which scrutinises public petitions and selects some for debate, has chosen to hold a debate in Westminster Hall, despite the signatories not reaching the 100,000 threshold which would automatically require the holding of a debate on the issue (unless deemed unsuitable).

Discussions open

Martyn Day, a Scottish national MP and a member of the Petitions Committee said that he was gathering data, and evidence on the arguments for and against changes— including the significance of the occasions to specific and wider communities, the historic basis for existing public holidays, and how Britain’s arrangements for religious and non-religious holidays compared with other European countries, as well as the practical implications and costs to business and society more widely. “ England has 8 public holidays, Scotland, 9 and Northern Ireland 10 so there is no consistency,” said Day.

He said that the message that reflects different communities occasions via public holidays could have bolstering a strong multicultural society also had to be considered.

In an increasingly multicultural society, where family members and friends often come from different religious and cultural traditions, how could policy makers ensure there were opportunities for people to celebrate and recognise these together?

Increase in hate crime

The debate comes amid growing concern about respect and tolerance for different religions in the UK. According to figures published earlier this week there was a 40% increase in hate crimes based on religion in England and Wales between 2016-17 and 2017-18— over half of which were directed at Muslims.

Earlier this month, Shaun Bailey who is standing as the Conservative Party’s candidate for the mayor of London in 2020 wrote a pamphlet that criticised the widespread celebration of Hindu and Muslim festivals, and their teaching in schools, pointing to it as an example of why Britain was descending into a “crime-ridden cesspool.”

While the parliamentary debate would not have a direct impact on government policy on religious public holidays, Mr. Day said that he hoped it would contribute to an informed debate on the issue, and a better understanding of the issues at stake ensure that the issue remained one that continued to be debated and considered by policy makers and beyond.

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