Ahead of the vote in Parliament this evening on relaxing Sunday trading laws in England and Wales, the Institute of Directors called on MPs considering opposing the reforms to change direction and give consumers what they want.
Lady Barbara Judge CBE, Chairman of the Institute of Directors, said:
“Sunday trading restrictions are archaic when consumers can shop on their phones wherever they are, at any hour of the day. Regulation in all areas must move with the times, and this is an opportunity to remove an outdated regulation. People who work all week need the chance to shop at the weekends. If they don’t, they’ll just do it online, which makes it harder for high-street shops to compete in an already difficult environment. Sunday trading goes a long way to levelling the retail playing field.
“The opposition of the SNP to Sunday trading in England and Wales is particularly hard to understand, given that it has never been banned in Scotland.”