The Business Secretary dodged a call for an extra holiday on March 1, 2012 to mark St David's Day.
Lord Roberts of Llandudno told him it would be "a great opportunity for St David's Day to be recognised as an official bank holiday in celebration of the diamond jubilee."
Lord Mandelson neatly sidestepped the question: "I am sure that those who might want to take up your suggestion of making St David's Day a bank holiday will have heard the suggestion you have made."Others will have begun to shout about snubs to Wales, if not slaps in the face. Making St David's Day a public holiday is one of those policies that some political parties adopt between elections only to junk as the prospect of victory on election day approaches.
But Lord Roberts had another, cheaper, idea to celebrate the diamond jubilee - a "historical pageant" in Parliament.
It's a little unfair on the rest of us, as Lord Roberts already has his own ermine-trimmed fancy dress costume suitable for any historical pageant.
