MPs reject plans to liberalise Sunday trading protections

Plans to liberalise Sunday trading protections in England and Wales have been dropped after they were rejected by MPs.

The proposals contained in the Enterprise Bill would have allowed local councils to extend Sunday opening hours. But MPs voted 317 to 286 in favour of an amendment that blocked the proposals, as 27 Conservative MPs rebelled.

Hoping to limit the rebellion, Business Secretary Sajid Javid offered to introduce the changes on a pilot basis, in 12 areas, followed by an annual conduct review.

However, the last ditch attempt to push through the plans was unsuccessful as Javid’s amendment arrived too late for Commons Speaker John Bercow to consider.

It is the Conservative Government's second defeat in the House of Commons since it was elected last May.

Special day

During a three-hour debate, a succession of Conservative MPs, led by David Burrowes, joined MPs from across the political spectrum to speak out against the plans to liberalise Sunday trading protections.

During the debate Mr Burrowes said: "Sunday is still special for many people... we should ensure that there is a proper place for Sundays for families, businesses and workers."

Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds spoke of Sunday being a special day for him and his faith, saying:

"For Christians such as myself, Sunday is a special day. Sunday is when my family and I attend church, and the opportunity to do so should not be denied to people who have to work Sundays, whether in the morning or the evening."

Shambolic

Sir Gerald Howarth called the handling of Sunday trading proposals "shambolic", adding that they looked like they had been "delivered by lastminute.com", while Stewart Jackson criticised the "dead hand" of the Treasury while saying the bill "is about what kind of country we want to be".

Following the vote, Labour Shadow Business Secretary, Angela Eagle said that weakening the law on Sunday Trading would have "affected millions of workers".

She added: "Can we now hear from the Government that they will respect the will of this House and abandon their tawdry attempts to reintroduce this proposal?"

Consultation

Five months after the deadline for submissions, ministers published the results of a consultation on plans to extend Sunday trading hours.

The consultation received 7,000 responses from religious bodies, small businesses, trade unions and individuals, the majority of which were against the proposals. However, the government decided to press on, citing the approval of local authorities and medium-large sized business.

At the time of its publication, Christian Concern Chief Executive Andrea Williams said: "Many Christian Concern supporters responded with very real concerns, and we thank them for their support. Yet these responses, along with the views of several other groups, have been ignored."

Now, with MPs having voted down the proposals, it is evident that many of them also had serious concerns about the impact of liberalising Sunday trading protections.

Thank You

Thank you for praying and taking action. If your MP was one of the 317 who voted for the amendment that blocked the extension of Sunday trading hours, please take a moment to thank them now. You can find a list of those who voted for the amendment here (the list of names under 'AYES' at 5.49pm) and contact details for your MP here.