Full list of UK bank holidays as Nigel Farage promises to give everyone 2 more days off

British summer might not have arrived yet but Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has promised some brighter days to come for voters. He has today announced his party would make two new Bank Holidays official if Reform UK ever got into power.

The 60-year-old veteran disruptor of British politics was in buoyant mood today as he announced his party's "contract" with the electorate, a word he said was chosen because "manifesto" had become associated "with lies".

Speaking at the "contract" launch in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, Mr Farage said St George's Day and St David's Day would become new national holidays.

St George, England's patron saint, is traditionally celebrated on April 23, and St David, the patron saint of Wales, is honoured on March 1. Neither home nation currently has a day off on these dates.

This is unlike in Scotland where St Andrew's Day was officially made a Bank Holiday in 2007.

In Northern Ireland Saint Patrick's Day on March 17 is officially a Bank Holiday, as it is south of the border in the Republic of Ireland.

Thanks to a large Irish diaspora, the Irish saint is also celebrated globally, especially in the United States where there are parades and the Chicago River in the city of Chicago is dyed green.

While Reform is targeting Labour votes, its main objective is replacing the Tories as the main party on the right of British politics.

Mr Farage said: "We are not pretending that we are going to win this General Election, we are a very, very new political party."

But he added: "This election is for our party, and for me, the first important step on the road to 2029. Our ambition is to establish a bridgehead in Parliament, and to become a real opposition to a Labour government."

He said the Tories would not be able to provide opposition because "they spend most of their days arguing among themselves, and they're split down the middle when it comes to policy".

Reform UK's contract pledges set out today, include:

• A commitment to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and a policy of sending migrants who arrive in small boats back to France.
• A "freeze" on non-essential immigration "to protect our culture and identity".
• Increasing the income tax personal allowance to £20,000, raising the threshold for paying the higher rate to £70,000 and scrapping inheritance tax on estates under £2 million.
• Cutting the main corporation tax rate from 25% to 15% in three years.
• Slashing fuel duty by 20p per litre, scrapping VAT on energy bills, and cut stamp duty to 0% on sales below £750,000.
• Eliminate NHS waiting lists in two years with an extra £17 billion a year for health.
• Increasing the size of the British army from 73,000 to 100,000.

Despite the grandiose promises, Reform UK are still predicted to only reach a maximum of seven MPs in the next Parliament.