BBC' s Beyond Belief on the Sabbath
We have contributed to the popular BBC Radio 4 programme 'Beyond Belief' on the Sabbath. It is available as a podcast here.
The Sunday Trading (Amendment) Bill
We were pleased to see Therese Coffey MP’s excellent rebuttal to the Sunday Trading (Amendment) Bill:
'It is perhaps unusual to hear a speech from a woman opposing a proposal for more time to shop. I suggest, however, that the Bill that my hon. Friend is introducing would have unintended consequences. He started to make a convincing case for extending Sunday hours generally, and I am not sure why he is trying to restrict his proposal to the Olympics if he believes that it would be helpful as an economic stimulus. He also said that only the larger stores are currently restricted. I encourage him to think again about his measure, so that we can once again reinforce the role of small, independent stores or smaller high street stores in boosting economic activity.
My hon. Friend suggested that the provisions would have only a temporary application. I am rather nervous about that, because such provisions usually set us on the road to permanent change. He also mentioned new employment opportunities, but stores in the Westfield shopping centre and similar places will not take on extra shop workers just to deal with an extra 24 hours of work spread across six Sundays.
I believe that my hon. Friend’s Bill sends out the wrong message. The Olympics will be a once-in-a-generation—perhaps once-in-a-lifetime—opportunity for everyone in this country to participate in and enjoy. He said that people could not be compelled to work on a Sunday, but I think he will find that that is no longer true.'
The Bill has no prospects of making any further progress.
You can read the full debate here. Why not send her a thank you note at therese.coffey.mp@parliament.uk?
