§ Mr. Ivor Stanbrook (Orpington)With your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I beg leave of the House to present a petition from residents of my constituency in which they refer to the shops Bill, now before Parliament, and seek to request the House that that Bill be not passed in its present form in so far as it proposes the total deregulation of the law regarding shop hours.
The petition concludes with the words:
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House do maintain legal limitations on Sunday trading to ensure that the special character of Sunday is protected. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, et cetera.The petition is signed by more than 2,200 of my constituents. I totally agree with them.
§ To lie upon the Table.
§ Mr. William Cash (Stafford)With your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I beg leave to present a petition. I have the honour to present the petition on behalf of my constituents who are residents of Stafford. The concluding words of the petition are:
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House do maintain legal limitations on Sunday trading to ensure that the special character of Sunday is protected. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, et cetera.To lie upon the Table.
§ Mr. David Sumberg (Bury, South)With your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I beg leave to present a petition opposing unlimited Sunday trading as proposed by the Shops Bill. The petition is signed by 700 of my constituents. It concludes with the words:
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House do maintain legal limitations on Sunday trading to ensure that the special character of Sunday is protected. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, et cetera.Although I see little practical alternative to the Government's proposals to make our Sunday trading laws consistent with both logic and common sense, I pay tribute to the sincerity, conscience and industry of those who organised and signed the petition, and who have enabled me to present it.
§ To lie upon the Table.