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British gov't loses vote on relaxing Sunday trading hours

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

British government's plans to change Sunday trading laws was defeated by 317 votes to 286, as 27 Conservatives rebelled on Wednesday.

The plans were first announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last year's Budget, aimed to allow English and Welsh councils to overhaul Sunday opening hours for large shops in their areas.

According the existing restrictions on Sunday trading laws, large shops are allowed to open for a maximum of six hours.

Osborne said allowing councils in England and Wales to decide whether larger stores should be able to trade longer could help "struggling" high streets compete with online retailers.

According to the Business Department estimates, extending Sunday hours would boost the Britain's economy by 1.5 billion pounds (2.13 billion U.S. dollars) or more over 10 years.

But Labour Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP) opposed the plans, and 27 Conservative rebels joined forces to vote against the proposals. During a three-hour Commons debate, a succession of Conservative Members of Parliament spoke out against the changes.

Labour and the unions argued that the changes would lessen shop workers' income, and would fail to protect them if they did not like to be on duty on Sundays.

The Federation of Small Businesses said its members were "unconvinced of the economic case for relaxing Sunday trading rules".

With regard to the future of the plans, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the majority of English and Welsh Members of Parliament had supported the change. "It was denied because of the SNP," he added. Endit