In what might be the biggest incentive yet for England to bring it home, Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly planning to give the country a bank holiday if the Three Lions win the World Cup.
The Prime Minister has tried not to get ahead of himself, saying he doesn’t want to “jinx” England’s chances. But when asked about the possibility of a celebratory day off, he hinted: “Ask me again if we get to the final.”
Translation: It’s very much on the table.
According to government officials, Starmer has already earmarked a bank holiday in the event of an England victory. The extra day off would be timed to coincide with an open-top bus parade for the squad, with Friday, July 24 currently looking like the most likely date.
Apparently, the timing would also neatly avoid clashing with Starmer’s expected handover of power to Andy Burnham on Monday 20 July. Priorities, obviously.
As Prime Minister, Starmer has the authority to create a UK-wide bank holiday, although he could theoretically make it England-only if he wanted to keep the celebrations focused on the winning nation.
Predictably, some economists have pointed out that shutting down the country for a day isn’t exactly free. A government impact assessment from 2022 estimated that a one-off bank holiday could knock around £2.4 billion off GDP.
But not everyone is worried.
Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Liberum, argued that surprise bank holidays mostly just shift spending around rather than wiping it out altogether.
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“Bank holidays are like wealth taxes,” he said. “If they are unanticipated and one-offs then they largely move economic activity around.”
He added that a World Cup victory holiday would probably be “fine for the economy” — as long as England doesn’t start winning and celebrating every year for the next six decades.
And while economists debate the numbers, pubs are already dreaming of packed beer gardens and all-day celebrations.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the possibility of an extra bank holiday would be a “dream come true for publicans all over the country”.
So, if England do somehow end up lifting the trophy, you might not just get eternal bragging rights — you could also get a long weekend out of it.
Football really is the beautiful game.
