A BOURNEMOUTH MP has called upon the government to introduce a ‘Queen Elizabeth bank holiday’.

MP for Bournemouth East Tobias Ellwood said it would be a fitting tribute to proclaim one of the bank holidays ‘Elizabeth Day’ in recognition of the late Queen’s lifetime service to the nation.

Speaking about his plans to raise it in parliament, Mr Ellwood said: “The time I'm gonna bring it up is probably Thursday, because there are business questions there and I can raise it formally with the government as a few days will have passed since the momentous events of the last 12 days.

“Then we can consider the scale of impact and how we can pay tribute to that for a Queen whose longevity and sense of service and scale of service, we're unlikely to see again.

“The outpouring of emotion and reverence and respect for her Majesty warrants an accolade, which will stay with us as a reminder of what she did for the nation.

“There's the May and August bank holidays but it would be for a wider debate to determine which date.

“For example, the August bank holiday you could shift that by a few days in order to sit on a specific day associated with the queen there's a number of ways that we could link the date itself to Queen Elizabeth.

“The number of bank holidays is capped simply because it has an impact on GDP. So it wouldn't be, I don't think right, to introduce a new bank holiday and have another holiday.

“It would be more appropriate to name one of the ones which aren't already associated with a specific day.

“But I think it would be a wonderful tribute to our longest ever reigning monarch and the outpouring of emotion, the sense of loss that we've all experienced over the last few days, I hope warrants a discussion about whether this would be possible.”

In his tribute to the Queen following her death, Mr Ellwood referenced the Elizabeth Tower in London.

The official name of the tower in which the Big Ben bell is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II following a campaign from Mr Ellwood.

Speaking about his speech, he said: “I was the one who named the Elizabeth Tower for the Diamond Jubilee 10 years ago, that was my achievement.

"I mentioned it in my tribute that I gave in parliament when the Queen died and it was very humbling that King Charles mentioned it last week when he addressed MPs.”