MP Mark Pritchard attacks Sunday trading hours move

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard today said the government had 'got it wrong' over plans to extend Sunday shopping hours.

Large shops are only allowed to open for six hours between 10am and 4pm on Sundays, but Sunday trading hours were extended for the Olympics and will remain in place until the end of the Paralympic Games.

And ministers have been pushing to make the move permanent to help boost the economy.

But Mr Pritchard said: "The fact is that the Government says that it needs more growth in the economy, we would all support that, but I don't think extending Sunday trading hours would necessarily bring about significant growth.

"I think the Government, whilst positive and wanting to be positive for business, just got this wrong.

"The fact is many people spend Sunday with their families, they decide to go to church, just have some down time and if the Government want to see Sunday like every other trading day then I think they should be explicit and say it.

"Of course when the extension to Sunday trading hours went ahead, they said that this would be temporary only."

Mr Pritchard said the current restriction also meant workers could enjoy a day-off.

"I think all of us deserve rest and that includes shop workers," he said.

"I mean as somebody who has worked in a shop on a Sunday, and not every Conservative MP has done that, I know that there is a lot of pressure on workers to turn up, there's a question of whether people are overlooked for promotion."

The Prime Minister's official spokesman has said that the impact of the changes would be reviewed following the Paralympic Games.