Tory MPS set to rebel over extending Sunday trade hours
‘Trade will be diverted away from the local shops that have kept us all going during the last few months’
BORIS JOHNSON’S plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws looked to be in trouble after at least 50 Conservative MPS told him directly that they would vote against them, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Ministers are considering relaxing the rules so people can shop for longer and to help retailers after lockdown.
But the Prime Minister was told in a letter that “over 50 Conservative MPS, from a range of intakes including those elected in 2019 and covering a full spectrum of views in the parliamentary party, are opposed to these plans and have expressed this directly to us or to their constituents”.
It was signed by seven Conservative MPS – Fiona Bruce, William Wragg, David Amess, Martin Vickers, David Jones, Andrew Selous and Bob Blackman – but the full list of signatories was withheld from Mr Johnson to avoid the MPS, some of whom have been in the Commons barely six months, being pressurised by the whips to drop their opposition. The Telegraph has seen a copy of the letter and the full list of 50 Conservative MPS who have signed it.
If the trading relaxation is opposed by other parties, it will require just 41 Tory rebels to defeat it in the House of Commons. Plans to overhaul the laws in England and Wales were dropped in 2016 when 27 Tories rebelled.
In the letter the Conservative MPS told Mr Johnson: “We stand squarely behind your ambition to stimulate economic growth and revitalise British high streets, but removing Sunday trading hours will not achieve this.
“It will harm local shops and high streets by displacing trade to large out of town retail parks and supermarkets.
“Instead the Government should review the seven substantive reports developed since 2011, by government departments, industry experts, academics and parliamentarians, containing hundreds of recommendations. None have recommended removing Sunday trading hours.”
Since 1994, trading laws have allowed smaller shops to open all day on Sundays in England and Wales. Larger stores, such as supermarkets or department stores, may open for six hours between 10am and 6pm.
The MPS added: “Sunday represents an important common day of rest, where families and communities can spend time together. It is an especially important day for the millions of retail key workers that have been on the front line during the nation’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak, feeding the nation and delivering for their local communities; 91 per cent of shop workers do not want longer Sunday trading hours in larger stores.
“We have learnt from the outbreak the value of social connectivity. As a nation we spent more time with our families, talked to our neighbours, and our communities have come together to help the most vulnerable.
“We should extend these lessons beyond the outbreak and into the fabric of society; keeping Sunday just a little bit special provides an opportunity for communities to come together and individuals to pause, reflect and recharge for the working week ahead.
“We urge you to reflect carefully on the Government’s plans in this policy area, and to shift our focus to policies which benefit the economy and society where there is broad consensus in our party and beyond.”
Ms Bruce said: “As a nation, we benefit from a few hours on a Sunday to spend time together as a family without the additional pressure of work.
“The Sunday trading hours that we have now strike the right balance for hard working families and both large and small retailers.”
Mr Jones added: “There is no substantial evidence to suggest that relaxing Sunday trading hours has any effect on economic growth.
“Our constituents won’t spend more just because the shops are open longer, but trade will be diverted away from the local shops that have kept us all going during the last few months.”