Huge support for annual bank holiday in honour of Queen called Elizabeth Day
MPs from across the political spectrum are campaigning for the introduction of an annual bank holiday to honour the memory of the Queen.
Historians have also added their weight to the argument for a special day that would pay tribute to the 70 years that Elizabeth II served as monarch.
A petition to make the suggestion a reality, meanwhile, has already attracted 140,000 signatures.
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Ex-Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith intends to seek further cross-party backing for the new bank holiday, which some have suggested should be named Elizabeth Day, when MPs return to Parliament later this week.
He has declared it a "brilliant idea" while Labour MP Khalid Mahmood added: "We should continue to pay tribute to the Queen, our longest-reigning monarch, and ensure her selflessness and commitment to service remains an inspiration.
"An annual day of love and celebration is the least she deserves and I would fully support it."
The man who successfully campaigned for the tower which houses Big Ben to be named Elizabeth Tower as a Diamond Jubilee tribute is also championing the proposal, with Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, reasoning: "The day would be a permanent reminder of our gratitude for an incredible reign and dedicated life of service."
Brendan Cox, whose wife Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered by a a far-right extremist, is another to come out in support of the suggestion, saying: "The Queen brought our country together throughout her life.
"There can be no more fitting tribute than to create a day in her honour that continues her legacy of connecting us all and reminding us of what we have in common."
Historian and television presenter Dan Snow, meanwhile, argued: "We haven't always been great as a country at celebrating what binds us together.
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"This is a moment to change that and create a day that will represent the principles of togetherness and service that Her Majesty personified."
John Harris, the organiser of the bank holiday petition, has urged the Government to honour the sovereign who he claims was "the world's most popular ever monarch".
He wrote: "Britain has fewer bank holidays than most European countries; France has 11 compared with our eight, Spain has 14. I believe we need a new public bank holiday to mark our greatest sovereign's lifetime; a Queen Elizabeth Day.
"A day for our Nation to come together and celebrate both the life of the Queen, and our gratitude for the institution of our Royal Family."
You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here.
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