Sir Keir Starmer has called for a celebratory bank holiday should England win Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final. The Labour leader said he was “never complacent” as he backed the suggestion in the event of the Lionesses beating Spain. The Government has said an extra bank holiday is not currently in its plans, adding it will find the “right way to celebrate” if England win. Sir Keir – writing on X, formerly known as Twitter – said: “It’s almost 60 years since England won the World Cup. “I’m never complacent about anything… but there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home.” Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey added: “The Lionesses have made history by reaching the final, they are an inspiration to athletes across the country already. “Winning the World Cup would be a phenomenal achievement. It absolutely deserves to celebrated with a bank holiday.” Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, when told the Government was pouring cold water on the bank holiday idea, replied on Channel 4 news: “Well I think if the men’s team won the World Cup, I’d definitely think they wouldn’t think twice, right? “So it deserves some kind of marking, it deserves some kind of national holiday definitely or something.” Ms Chadha praised the players who have “absolutely driven” the Lionesses, adding: “Spain is a great team, but I do believe it’s theirs (England) – this is their World Cup, our World Cup.” TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “We all hope our amazing Lionesses can get over the line on Sunday. “And if they do bring it home, the Government should do the right thing and allow the country to celebrate with a special bank holiday. “It would be mean-spirited not to do so.” A Government spokesperson said: “Winning the World Cup would be a massive moment for the country and make no mistake we’ll find the right way to celebrate. “As Sarina Wiegman herself has said, the first thing to do is focus on the final and the whole country will be rooting for the Lionesses this weekend.” It deserves some kind of marking, it deserves some kind of national holiday definitely or something Gurinder Chadha The remarks followed an earlier statement to the BBC which also said: “The current pattern of public and bank holidays is well established and there are no plans to change this.” A petition on the Parliament website has been set up asking for a bank holiday. It states: “I’d like the Government to declare a bank holiday for all workers in the United Kingdom. Then we can celebrate in the achievements of England’s football team.” A 2010 House of Commons library report said the then government estimated an additional bank holiday would cost the economy £2.9 billion. Official figures released last month showed the UK economy contracted in May after businesses across the country downed tools for the King’s coronation. Gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.1% for the month, after increasing by 0.2% in April, the Office for National Statistics said. The contraction was driven by the extra bank holiday weekend for the royal occasion, meaning sectors like construction and finance lost a working day in the month. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ella Toone’s PE teacher reveals why it’s no surprise she’s in the World Cup final Erling Haaland one of three Man City treble winners on shortlist for PFA award Football rumours: Liverpool ramp up bid for Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure

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Right-wing political commentator Ben Shapiro tried to roast Joe Biden but it immediately backfired on him. Shapiro is no stranger to controversy or voicing his opinion, regardless of how unhinged it might seem. Earlier this year, the conservative commentator made not one but three videos about how much he disliked the 2023 hit Barbie movie. Now, it is President Joe Biden that Shapiro has set his sights on after trying to roast him about his age after celebrating his 81st birthday. In a post on his Instagram, Biden shared a picture of himself celebrating turning 81 and instantly made it a joke, subtly mocking every one of his haters who like to criticise him because of his age. In the picture, he sat at a table where a cake with 81 lit candles sat in front of him. The photo was captioned: “Thanks for the birthday well-wishes today, everyone. Turns out on your 146th birthday, you run out of space for candles!” Shapiro reacted to the picture in a post on X/Twitter, claiming it is “one of the worst campaign blunders” he has witnessed. Shapiro wrote: “This is legitimately one of the worst campaign blunders I have ever seen. Everything about it is idiotic. “He’s gripping the table as though he’s about to keel over. He's got the rictus smile, illuminated by fire. This cake looks like somebody set the world on fire. Which he did.” In the replies, Shapiro’s post got absolutely ridiculed for being nonsense and for demonstrating how he seems to get riled up over nothing. One person commented: “Ben is a fascinating case study in how you can pretend so hard to be upset about stupid things that you actually start believing it.” “A picture 99% of the electorate will never even see is one of the worst campaign blunders you’ve ever seen? Ben is a complete moron,” another argued. Someone else asked: “Has Ben lost his mind and he really sees these things or is he just trying to convince you to see what’s not there?” Another argued, “I’d rather have 81 candles on my cake than 91 criminal charges hanging over my head!”, referencing the former Republican president Donald Trump who faces a number of criminal charges against him. Someone else added: “Even if any of what this imbecile says is true it will impact exactly zero votes. A real political genius this ‘Ben Shapiro’.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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