Gordon MP Richard Thomson supports World Book Day on its 25th anniversary

Gordon MP Richard Thomson has given his backing to a Parliamentary Motion supporting World Book Day.

The annual event is celebrating its 25th anniversary today and has distributed 15,000,000 book tokens since its inception.

Commenting, Mr Thomson said: “World Book Day was created by UNESCO in 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading with the first World Book Day taking place in Scotland in 1997.

"It is marked in over 100 countries around the globe and encourages young people to discover the pleasure of reading.

“Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.

"World Book Day aims to ensure more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, form a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them.”

The text of the Parliamentary Motion reads as follows: "That this House congratulates World Book Day on celebrating its 25th Anniversary on 3 March 2022; commends its success in distributing 15 million book tokens annually in places of education; notes that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success; further notes that the British economy could be £30 billion larger by 2030 if every child left primary education with the reading skills they need; recognises the importance of children from all backgrounds having the opportunity to choose and own a book; and welcomes World Book Day’s campaign to inspire more children to think of themselves as readers."

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