Back on 18th March the Governemtn announced that for the duration of the Olympics Sunday trading hours would "relaxed" to cope with the extra demand created by the games. That day I sent the following email to my MP
I am very disappointed to hear this morning that the Government is intending to scrap the remaining restrictions on Sunday trading during an 8 week period over the summer.
I have to say I wholly echo the thoughts of your colleagues Nadine Dories who quoted on the BBC web site said without debate and vote of whole house.
"Is the coalition government secretly implementing an anti-Christian agenda?”
And equally another of your colleagues Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey warned that a temporary lifting for the Games was likely to lead to a permanent change and could stop staff enjoying the "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to enjoy the sporting spectacle.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17419351
Sunday is a sacred day for Christians certainly. But actually most major faiths have a day of rest. And that is there for a purpose for people to rest, to be with their families and friends. I know of far too many people who feel burned out by the long hours culture in this country. That is not saying that hard work isn’t important. But hard work needs to be balanced by hard play too.
This change is shameful.
I got the following reply:
Dear David,
Again I am afraid we disagree.
This is an excellent chance to maximise the opportunity that the Olympics presents us, and will give our retail sector a major boost.
I answered:
I could just about see that in London (where most Olympic events are going to be held) extra opening hours would be useful and retail would draw in extra tourist pounds. But In Swindon? In Bristol? In Cardiff?
It’s just a ploy to sneak this in permanently. How long before Easter Sunday and Christmas Day go the same way?
Regards
David
He replied:
Dear David,
Thank you for your e-mail of18th March about the decision to suspend Sunday Trading Laws during the Olympics and Paralympics.
As you are aware, the Chancellor confirmed this decision in last week’s Budget and clarified that this suspension of the normal Sunday trading laws will be in operation for 8 Sundays during the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. I appreciate your concern about the impact that this change will have on small, independent retailers and I know that this has been taken into consideration when making this decision, as the Government is determined to help small and medium sized businesses as much as possible. However, I believe it was deemed an important temporary measure to make sure that the UK benefits from the Olympics as much as possible.
I do understand your worry that this may be a way to sneak in permanent changes to the legislation but I would like to assure you that it is only temporary and the Chancellor and other Ministers have all confirmed that it will not remain in place after the Olympics. I know that the Government is very aware of concerns about the impact that this might have on family life, and I share these concerns so I am glad that the measure is only for 8 Sundays. I also understand your comments about changes to the law in places other than London and I appreciate where you are coming from. However, I think that firstly it would be very difficult to change the law solely for London, and secondly those that are in favour of these changes would feel discriminated against. In many ways it is more just to make these changes across the board as shops then have the discretion to make up their own mind about opening times.
On 11th August, the Daily Telegraph carried a report that the Governemtn were considering making the relaxtion in Sunday trading hours permanent. Quelle surprise! So my poor old MP got another email:
Dear Sir,
When the Government announced plans to extend Sunday opening hours during the Olympics I wrote to you to express my concern. You wrote back assuring me that “I do understand your worry that this may be a way to sneak in permanent changes to the legislation but I would like to assure you that it is only temporary and the Chancellor and other Ministers have all confirmed that it will not remain in place after the Olympics.”
Therefore you will understand why I was concerned to learn of the report in The Daily Telegraph on 11th August that the Government intends to carry on with the extended opening hours after the Olympics.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9469076/Longer-Sunday-opening-for-big-shops-sparks-new-Coalition-rift.html
It would seem that my suspicion of the Olympics being a stalking horse to sneak this measure in have proved to be true. I do not think for a moment you set out to deceive me in your reply in March. Obviously your masters have changed their minds.
As I said in my original email, my opposition to the change is not about being opposed to Sunday trading per se. (Churches lost that argument years ago and as an occasional Sunday shopper myself I’d be a hypocrite to say I didn’t value shops being open for a short time on Sunday.) My opposition is based on the pressure extended opening places on shop workers and their families. And I was heartened to hear this was the view of Sir Stuart Rose (Former Chairman of M&S) express the same view during an interview on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning.
I won't go on publishing bits and pieces of the emails after that. basically his stance was he thought there might be some benefit in the hours being relaxed permanently. he heard what I said about the pressure on families. But equally he'd be contacted by people syaing they liked the extra hours as it fitted in with their lifestyle.
On 19th August the CEO of Sainsburys Justin King expressed reservations
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19311429
In fairness, when I shared this with him my MP said this:
Dear David,
Thank you for sending me the link, it is certainly interesting to hear a major retailer speaking out against relaxing the law permanently, not what I’d expect!
I think it interesting that Mr King seems to have some reservations as to the economic benefits of the last 7 weeks – that certainly seems to tally with what other retailers have been saying.
Also interesting in the article is the point about family life being affected by having one parent working at weekends. This is certainly something that will have to be balanced with the desire of some families (those who work Mon-Fri) to be able to shop all weekend.
Today as you may have heard, retail sales figures for August were down, apparently due to people not shopping during the Olympics. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19468578
Given that a major factor for extending Sunday trading hours during the Olympics was to cope with the supposed extra demand, I hope the Government will now accept that there is no demand for extra opening hours and therefore allow the Sunday trading hours to revert.
Incidentally, at a prayer meeting I attend with other Swindon ministers on Monday morning, one of my colleagues (Rev John Rowe from Lawn Community Church) shared an experience he’d had just last week. John had been in London sight-seeing with his family and they went to Harrods. Whilst John was browsing through one section, he was approached by one of the shop assistants. They got into conversation and John says the shop assistant started to say how concerned he was if Sunday trading was extended, as it would mean he would see even less of his family than he does now. (Apparently the man lived in Essex and faced a long commute to and from work each day.)
The Conservative Party always seems to pride itself on family values. But if the Government changes the opening hours of shops permanently, it is clear that a great deal of strain will be put on shop workers and their families.
By the way, I might not agree with my MP's politics but he is great at replying
