The Open Sundays movement says the law restricts major retailers with premises over 280 square metres to trading for only six hours between 10am and 6pm
Rachel Reeves told to change Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons law
Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons could be forced to change Sunday supermarket rules if Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves tells them to.
Campaigners are calling for Ms Reeves to end the Sunday trading limits. Retailers and shoppers are urging the Chancellor to modernise law restricting large stores to limited Sunday hours.,
The Open Sundays movement says the law restricts major retailers with premises over 280 square metres to trading for only six hours between 10am and 6pm. Campaign spokesperson Mark Allatt said: “These regulations are a stubborn relic that hold back growth and limit choice for consumers.”
READ MORE DPD introduces 65p rule for parcel deliveries ahead of Christmas
Mr Allatt said extended hours could “replicate the commercial success seen during the 2012 Olympic exemption”, when retailers benefited from greater flexibility.
The campaign says: “Our aim is simple. We want the Sunday trading laws to be changed so that we consumers have a liberalised Sunday trading environment where retailers can determine their opening hours and consumers have greater choice on when and where they do their shopping.
“Unfortunately, we can’t change anything by ourselves – we will need to convince Parliament, the government and MPs of all parties.
But once MPs start to appreciate the groundswell of support for Open Sundays, they’ll soon side with us: after all, they’ll be chasing all of our votes in the next general election. We can really influence the policies of all the main parties.”
It argues: ” Change is good for the consumer – more choice where and when to shop. Change is good for families – Sundays are becoming a family shopping day.
“Change is good for society – we are an increasingly multi-cultural society and people from different backgrounds view Sunday as either a leisure or work day. Change is good for the economy.”
It was proposed in the July 2015 Budget that the Sunday trading laws in England and Wales might be relaxed and shops over 280 m2 (3,000 sq ft) be able to open longer. However, this proposal was defeated in the House of Commons in March 2016.
