Unpopular opinion. Or possibly popular opinion. Making the last Monday in August a bank holiday was a bad idea.

August bank holiday is a bit of an oddity. Unlike every other bank holiday, its date isn’t based on a pre-existing celebration or holiday. It was just inserted into the calendar in 1871 by Liberal politician Sir John Lubbock, as he felt that the working classes deserved a day off in summer. Originally, it was the first Monday in August, but in response to pressure from the holiday industry it was moved to the end of August in 1965.

All of that is a bit anachronistic now. The holiday industry no longer gets a particular boost from a bank holiday. Changes in employment law mean that a bank holiday is much less significant to the working classes. A lot of businesses now operate on bank holidays anyway.

And even for those who do appreciate an official day off, the end of August is a bad time. Often, the weather is beginning to turn autumnal, with rain and wind. If it isn’t, then it’s often the opposite: stiflingly hot.

So, I think we should dump August bank holiday. I think a summer bank holiday is still a nice idea, but I’d move it to the last Monday in July. Put it at the start of the academic holiday rather than the end, at a time when, statistically, the weather is more likely to be dry and sunny. That would be a much better date for bank holiday events and festivals. And, unlike the current August bank holiday, there are several historical events whch could be celebrated at the end of July. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, for example. Or a “They Think It’s All Over Day” commemorating events at Wembley stadium in 1966. Although that might not go down so well in the Celtic fringes.

A downside of moving the summer bank holiday to July is that it then leaves an even longer gap until the next bank holiday at Christmas. Our bank holidays aren’t evenly distributed; we have three in the space of a week over Christmas and New Year, and then four over the space of a couple of months in April and May. And then one on its own in August, followed by a lengthy wait for the next.

I’d address that by having an autumn bank holiday. There are several possible options, all with strong external justification. Trafalgar Day in October is one that’s commonly mooted, but an Armistice Day bank holiday in November would make a lot of sense. Or even a “Democracy Day” on the 5th November. Or, in all of those cases, the nearest Monday if a midweek bank holiday is felt undesirable.

Adding an extra bank holiday to the calendar might not be popular with the government and industry. If so, then the alternative would be to move one of the May bank holidays to autumn. Personally, I’d shift the early May holiday; it’s often very close to Easter anyway and the weather is often not yet good enough for many open air events. Late May bank holiday is typically better from a recreational perspective (and it coincides with the school half term break), so I’d leave that in place.

Making these changes would give us a better summer bank holiday, and a better spread of bank holidays through the year. What’s not to like?

Incidentally, in support of the hypothesis that a late July bank holiday would typically have better weather than late August, I had a look at the historical flood alert archive at River Levels UK. Although most flooding happens in winter, there are still occasional downpours in summer. And August has typically twice as many flood alerts as July. Particularly towards the end of August as the weather starts to turn. This year, for example, we’ve had 107 flood alerts or warnings in England in August, compared to just 13 in July and 23 in June. That’s partly because of the heatwave and drought, of course, the disparity isn’t usually that great. But the pattern is consistent.