The Tory-led coalition has forced through emergency legislation that will suspend the Sunday trading
laws in England and Wales for eight weeks this summer starting from 22 July.
Coalition MPs voted through The Sunday Trading (London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Bill last night, after just nine hours consideration and debate in both the House of Commons and House of
Lords.
In a break with the convention that MPs have a free vote on the issue of Sunday trading, Coalition
MPs were subject to a three-line whip, meaning all Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs were
compelled to back the Bill. The shopworkers’ union Usdaw said the government’s decision to deny its
MPs a free vote reflected the shambolic way the issue had been handled and the failure of the
government to make a convincing case for the suspension.
I voted aginst the Bill and believe that the Government have failed to listen to shop workers and interested bodies like the voice of small retailers - The Association of Convenience Stores. Instead they chose to back a handful of large commercial interests who would prefer a permanent deregulation of Sunday trading.
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