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Boris Johnson’s bid to rip up Sunday trading laws are “under review” after the move provoked a backlash among Tory backbenchers, Downing Street has confirmed.
The prime minister had planned to suspend the six-hour cap on opening hours to boost the UK economy as retailers struggle to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
But it is not clear whether the measure will be included in a new Covid Bill, set to be tabled in parliament this week, as a chunk of Conservative MPs are threatening to vote it down.
The PM’s official spokesperson said: “In terms of Sunday trading laws we will keep that under review.”
The legislation is expected to set out new rules on social distancing for businesses and may liberalise planning laws, Number 10 said.
Asked if the suggested plans were now on the “back burner”, the No 10 spokesman added: “There is a Covid Bill which will look at new ways of working as the country recovers from the disruption caused by coronavirus and which is intended to help businesses through the summer months, in particular.
“I would expect that bill to be introduced this week.”
He continued: “In terms of what is in the bill, it is right that that will go to Parliament first but, as I say, at the heart of it will be legislation to enable businesses to adjust to new ways of working and to help them to capitalise on the summer months.
“It will look to support business to implement safer ways of working to manage the ongoing risks of coronavirus and in particular the need for social distancing.”
A letter in The Daily Telegraph signed by seven Tory MPs says the plan could damage independent retailers and that 91% of shop workers do not want longer Sunday trading hours in large stores.
The group says as many as 50 of Johnson’s backbenchers – some of which were first elected in December 2019 – oppose liberalising the regulation, which was introduced by John Major in 1994 to help small shops.
The letter reads: “We stand squarely behind your ambition to stimulate economic growth and revitalise British high streets, but removing Sunday trading hours will not achieve this.
“It will harm local shops and high streets by displacing trade to large out of town retail parks and supermarkets.
“Instead the government should review the seven substantive reports developed since 2011, by government departments, industry-leading experts, academics and parliamentarians, containing hundreds of recommendations, but none have recommended removing Sunday trading hours.”