§ 11. Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received regarding Sunday trading; and what replies he has sent.
§ Mr. WaddingtonSince the debate on the report of the Auld committee report in the House of Commons on 20 May we have received representations on all sides of the argument about Sunday trading. We have replied, setting out the reasons for our proposals to abolish statutory restrictions on Sunday trading.
§ Mr. LathamHas my hon. and learned Friend noticed that the Church of England General Synod, hardly a nest of bolsheviks[...]voted by 367 to one against the Government's proposals? Will he, therefore, hoist on board the storm cones going up behind him and drop these divisive and provocative proposals?
§ Mr. WaddingtonI do not believe that there will be any radical change in the character of Sunday as a result of this legislation. In this day and age we are all entitled to spend our Sundays in the way in which we think proper. Some of us may go to church in the morning and then wish thereafter to go to a garden centre or a do-it-yourself store and buy paint to paint the bathroom in the evening. Others may wish to go to church and then stay at home. I hope, incidentally, that they do not turn on the television or the radio or the electricity and thereby cause work for others; but they are entitled to spend their day in that way. This is a matter of fundamental freedom of choice and that is why we are right to legislate.