THE Gazette has taken its St George's Day campaign to Westminster and presented a 750-strong petition to the man leading the fight for it to be declared a national holiday.

Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford in Essex, put forward a motion to the House of Commons last October calling for April 23 to be turned into a public holiday.

Mr Rosindell was unsuccessful on that occasion but plans to put the idea forward again after the upcoming election, and will have the signatures of more than 750 Gazette readers as proof of mass public support.

Gazette Newspapers has been campaigning for St George's Day to be celebrated in style with a public holiday and patriotic readers have flocked to sign a petition.

Mr Rosindell said: "During the next parliamentary session - if I am re-elected - I plan to bring the proposal back and, as part of this, I hope to present to the House of Commons this petition signed by the people of Basingstoke."

And the MP gave his backing to The Gazette. "I think it is a wonderful campaign and endorse it 100 per cent," he said.

"I would like to see more local papers follow The Gazette's example. If every newspaper in England produced petitions and led campaigns, the fight to get St George's Day made a national holiday would be far better off.

"To celebrate St George's Day this year I will wear a red rose," added Mr Rosindell. "The rose is the symbol of England and I will wear it with pride on that day - even though it is also associated with the Labour Party."

Gazette Newspapers editor Mark Jones said: "The number of signatures that have been collected, and various stories that we have done during the campaign so far, have shown the strength of feeling on this issue.

"The Gazette thanks Mr Rosindell for receiving our petition and it will hopefully help his ongoing campaign to get St George's Day recognised as a national holiday."

If you are planning to celebrate St George's Day with a show of patriotism, call John Boyman on 01256 337410 or e-mail newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk

First published: Friday, April 1, 2005