Stephen Williams' views on Sunday trading
I am against the further liberalisation of Sunday trading hours. My understanding is that the recent campaign for longer opening hours is being led by supermarkets rather than consumers. There is little evidence that consumers are unhappy with the current opening hours and I do not therefore see any pressing need to reform the law.
The existing regulations provide smaller shops with a much-needed advantage over larger stores. Small independent retailers which are currently able to open earlier and close later would lose valuable custom to supermarkets if the law changed. Supermarket dominance would be likely to increase, leading to a less competitive market and therefore less choice for the consumer.
We must also consider the impact of extended opening hours on employees and their families. Although the existing legislation gives employees the right to refuse to work on Sundays, in practice it seems as if many stores only take on people who are willing to work any day of the week. Longer working hours on Sunday are therefore likely to put more pressure on employees and employers to treat Sunday as a normal working day.
With more people working longer hours on Sundays, there is a risk that many parents could have less time to spend with their children. Given the current feeling that there is a need for parents to be more, rather than less, involved in their children's lives, it does not seem sensible to amend legislation so that families may end up with less time together at the weekend.
I also feel that having one day a week which offers a break from full-blown consumerism is a positive thing. For these reasons, I do not see any need to liberalise the law on Sunday trading.
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