Martin Lewis sparks furious debate over whether summer holidays should be 'substantially shortened'

The nation's favourite finance guru Martin Lewis is usually known for sharing his financial advice with the public, but the ITV star has recently delved into the world of online debates and posed a question on the contentious issue of school holiday durations to his followers on Twitter.

The Money Saving Expert, who himself is a proud father to daughter Sapphire Susan Lewis with his wife Lara Lewington, is no stranger to the challenges and delights of the long summer break as his daughter approaches her 12th birthday. Considering his experiences, Martin posed a question on X about whether the lengthy summer holidays in the UK should be reduced.

In a Twitter poll that has attracted over 41,700 responses so far, he asked: "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."

Additionally, Martin used this chance to promote his new podcast, mentioning: "PS this was suggested by @pollymackenzie on my new MoneyFesto podcast.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

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Additionally, Martin used this chance to promote his new podcast, mentioning: "PS this was suggested by @pollymackenzie on my new MoneyFesto podcast.".

The results show a close divide among voters, reflecting the complexity of the topic. For parents with children under 18, 24.6% support shortening the summer holidays and extending other breaks, while 22.6% of the same demographic prefer keeping the holiday periods unchanged.

Non-parents of under-18s also voiced their opinions, with 26.8 per cent advocating for a reshuffling of school holidays and 26 per cent objecting to such a suggestion.

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In reaction to the poll, @Hustling_Fun wrote: "Not a parent, but I cam 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 X user, @Onavisittoearth, recollected her grandfather emphasising: "repeatedly saying 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 @doctordinkey, a teacher, countered: "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! ".

While there was no consensus on the duration of holidays cutting across audiences, what bothered many was the noticeable increase in prices during holiday times.

Echoing the sentiment, Paul Briley remarked: "Better would be to legislate against the exorbitant increase in prices during holiday periods!."

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below