Air bridge joy comes as we all deserve a break

AS with most of the best things in the modern world, the concept of the holiday is a Great British invention. In 1871 the Liberal MP Sir John Lubbock succeeded in getting a Bill through Parliament that created the first bank holidays where everyone could take the day off and still get paid.

It was the first time for paid holidays and, combined with a Victorian railway system, it saw the emergence of seaside resorts such as Blackpool, Brighton, Southend and Great Yarmouth where thousands of people would flock for a long weekend.

So the announcement of the air bridges to safe foreign countries to allow the English people to enjoy a holiday after a harrowing 2020 so far would no doubt please the soul of Sir John.

It is very good news which will work both ways with Britons able to take a break abroad while people from overseas can visit Britain.

Let us hope that Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland puts her Scottish nationalist desire to be different to England aside and has the good sense to allow Scots and Scotland to enjoy the same benefits.

The Welsh people will no doubt be hoping the same thing about Labour’s Mark Drakeford after his questionable decision to exclude Wales from the air bridges.

As is often said, a change of scenery is as good as a rest and we have no doubt that people who have been trapped at home for months will be desperate to get away this summer whether it is to a safe country or somewhere in the UK.