ITV's Martin Lewis, usually seen dishing out financial advice, has sparked a fiery debate on the length of school holidays. The Money Saving Expert and father to 'Sapphire Susan Lewis', whom he shares with his wife Lara Lewington, is no stranger to the challenges and joys of parenting during school breaks.
His daughter, turning 12 this year, might be one reason he's pondering the summer holiday stretch in the UK.
Taking to Twitter, Martin questioned his followers with a poll that has already attracted over 41,500 responses: "Today's Twitter Poll: Should the long summer school holiday be substantially shortened, and the missing time added to Easter, Christmas, and half term breaks? Vote split by if you're a parent of an under 18 or not."
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He also seized the moment to promote his latest venture, mentioning: "PS this was suggested by @pollymackenzie on my new MoneyFesto podcast."
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The results so far show a tight race among voters, highlighting the divisive nature of this topic. Heres what the numbers say:, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Parents of children under 18 are almost evenly split, with 24.6 per cent in favour of shortening the summer break versus 22.6 per cent who prefer keeping things as they are.
Those who aren't parents of under 18s also weighed in, with 26.8 per cent suggesting that the holidays should be rearranged, while 26 per cent disagreed.
Reacting to the poll, @Hustling_Fun tweeted: "Not a parent, but I can see benefits of both, I assume children would prefer longer Christmases but also, when we do have a good summer in the UK it can get very warm and I'm sure this would be hard for children to concentrate on school with."
Another Twitter user, @Onavisittoearth, recalled her grandfather's words from her childhood, stating he "repeatedly said very clearly it needed changing because kids don't work the spring, summer and autumn fields and jobs like they used to and so should be concentrating more on education to better themselves."
However, a teacher, @doctordinkey, disagreed, tweeting: "I'm a teacher. Kids are totally knackered by the time we get to July, and so are the teachers! Shortening the holidays would definitely not improve results. We already have shorter holidays than most other nations, and definitely shorter than private schools! ".
The debate wasn't just about the length of holidays, but also the price hikes that come with them.
Paul Briley commented: "Better would be to legislate against the exorbitant increase in prices during holiday periods! ".
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