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| Sunday trading: Tory MPs eye ‘unholy alliance’ with SNP and Labour | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Conservative rebels have said they are willing to enter an “unholy alliance” with the SNP and Labour in a bid to defeat government plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws. | |
| The decision leaves Downing Street facing a knife-edge vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday. | |
| Whitehall sources accused the SNP of “hypocrisy” for intervening in the vote, because it only relates to England and Wales and the reforms already exist in Scotland. | |
| The reforms represent the biggest shakeup in Sunday trading laws for 20 years, ending a rule that restricts large stores to open for just six hours between 10pm and 6pm. Small shops have been able to open for longer since 1994. | |
| The Tory rebellion is being led by David Burrowes, who said he wanted a “more sensible, palatable way forward” that might restrict the changes just to seaside towns and city centres. | |
| “It is a fairly unholy alliance but it is not so much about what the SNP thinks but how the government will deal with the large concerns across party.” He suggested that the SNP was justified in its decision because the plans could trigger a “domino effect” that could affect Scottish workers. | |
| The SNP fears that the change could reduce the “premium” wages earned by Scottish people who work on Sundays. The decision by the party’s deputy leader, Stewart Hosie, that he would not support | |
| the reforms outlined by George Osborne in his budget in July, was a change of tack after the weekly meeting of his party’s MPs. | |
| The party’s 54 MPs will vote with the Tory rebels, who are seeking to defeat government plans to give councils the right to zone areas that would be free from restricted trading hours. Hosie said: “We will support the Burrowes amendment.” | |
| UK government sources indicated that the decision by the SNP guarantees that the vote on the final Commons stages of the enterprise bill on Wednesday afternoon will be tight. | UK government sources indicated that the decision by the SNP guarantees that the vote on the final Commons stages of the enterprise bill on Wednesday afternoon will be tight. |
| Burrowes has won the support of 24 Tory MPs. If he can increase that number to about 36, he should be able to defeat the government with the help of Labour and the SNP. The government has a parliamentary majority of 17. | Burrowes has won the support of 24 Tory MPs. If he can increase that number to about 36, he should be able to defeat the government with the help of Labour and the SNP. The government has a parliamentary majority of 17. |
| One option would be for the government to seek to reduce the number of Tory rebels by accepting an amendment by the former Tory environment secretary Caroline Spelman to allow cities with large numbers of tourists to opt out of the current Sunday trading laws. | One option would be for the government to seek to reduce the number of Tory rebels by accepting an amendment by the former Tory environment secretary Caroline Spelman to allow cities with large numbers of tourists to opt out of the current Sunday trading laws. |
| A UK government source said: “It’s disappointing and hypocritical of the SNP to be trying to deny people the freedoms to shop that are already available to those they represent in Scotland. | A UK government source said: “It’s disappointing and hypocritical of the SNP to be trying to deny people the freedoms to shop that are already available to those they represent in Scotland. |
| “It’s a particularly extraordinary position for a party that supposedly believes in devolution of powers from Whitehall to be seeking to stand in the way of local leaders in the rest of the UK being able to choose what’s right for their communities and their economies.” | “It’s a particularly extraordinary position for a party that supposedly believes in devolution of powers from Whitehall to be seeking to stand in the way of local leaders in the rest of the UK being able to choose what’s right for their communities and their economies.” |
| Whitehall sources expressed irritation with the SNP, which reportedly indicated to the UK government in recent weeks that it would not stand in the way of the reforms, which only apply in England and Wales. | Whitehall sources expressed irritation with the SNP, which reportedly indicated to the UK government in recent weeks that it would not stand in the way of the reforms, which only apply in England and Wales. |
| The Conservative MP Grant Shapps called the SNP’s decision to oppose the vote as the “most bizarre position I’ve ever heard”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, the former Tory chair argued that the bill provided extra protections for workers, pointing to a reduction in the amount of notice workers have to give to opt out of Sunday working. | The Conservative MP Grant Shapps called the SNP’s decision to oppose the vote as the “most bizarre position I’ve ever heard”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, the former Tory chair argued that the bill provided extra protections for workers, pointing to a reduction in the amount of notice workers have to give to opt out of Sunday working. |
| But he conceded that there was no specific policy to offer employees a Sunday pay premium, as demanded by the SNP. Instead he argued that could be the natural result of the policy as, “businesses who want to employ people on Sunday may find they have to pay a premium on a Sunday”. Shapps argued that families could purchase goods online on a Sunday and wanted to be able to go to the shops for longer as well. “It is a bit ridiculous and it is time to update these rules.” | But he conceded that there was no specific policy to offer employees a Sunday pay premium, as demanded by the SNP. Instead he argued that could be the natural result of the policy as, “businesses who want to employ people on Sunday may find they have to pay a premium on a Sunday”. Shapps argued that families could purchase goods online on a Sunday and wanted to be able to go to the shops for longer as well. “It is a bit ridiculous and it is time to update these rules.” |
| The SNP has an informal policy of abstaining in votes on matters which do not relate to Scotland. But Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, announced last November that the SNP would oppose the plans on the grounds that they could drive down the wages of Scottish workers who enjoy a special Sunday premium. | The SNP has an informal policy of abstaining in votes on matters which do not relate to Scotland. But Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, announced last November that the SNP would oppose the plans on the grounds that they could drive down the wages of Scottish workers who enjoy a special Sunday premium. |
| The shopworkers’ union Usdaw warned the SNP that normalising Sunday trading hours in England and Wales would prompt large retailers to set a lower wage for workers across the UK. The government shelved the vote after Robertson’s announcement in November. | The shopworkers’ union Usdaw warned the SNP that normalising Sunday trading hours in England and Wales would prompt large retailers to set a lower wage for workers across the UK. The government shelved the vote after Robertson’s announcement in November. |
| Whitehall sources said that they had been given indications by the SNP, which recently brokered a new fiscal settlement with the UK government, that the party had changed its position. It had been widely expected that the SNP would abstain in the vote. | Whitehall sources said that they had been given indications by the SNP, which recently brokered a new fiscal settlement with the UK government, that the party had changed its position. It had been widely expected that the SNP would abstain in the vote. |
| Hosie denied that the SNP had changed tack under pressure from the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, ahead of the Holyrood elections in May, who had warned that the “rights of Scottish workers must not be subject to a Tory-SNP stitchup in Westminster”. | Hosie denied that the SNP had changed tack under pressure from the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, ahead of the Holyrood elections in May, who had warned that the “rights of Scottish workers must not be subject to a Tory-SNP stitchup in Westminster”. |
| The SNP deputy leader said: “There’s never ever been any guarantee at all, any understanding, indication that we would be automatically supporting any such measure. There was never any agreement that we would support or abstain to allow this measure to go through.” | The SNP deputy leader said: “There’s never ever been any guarantee at all, any understanding, indication that we would be automatically supporting any such measure. There was never any agreement that we would support or abstain to allow this measure to go through.” |
| Hosie added: “Our key concern all along was the protection of premium pay for employees in Scotland. We have listened to the evidence on both sides of this incredibly carefully. | Hosie added: “Our key concern all along was the protection of premium pay for employees in Scotland. We have listened to the evidence on both sides of this incredibly carefully. |
| “Our judgment is that should this become a UK-wide system without legal protections in place, there would be an inevitable erosion of premium pay for employees in Scotland.” | “Our judgment is that should this become a UK-wide system without legal protections in place, there would be an inevitable erosion of premium pay for employees in Scotland.” |
| The UK government sought to win over wavering Tory MPs by releasing a letter from the leaders of 102 Conservative councils supporting government plans to give councils the right to zone areas that would be free from restricted trading hours. | The UK government sought to win over wavering Tory MPs by releasing a letter from the leaders of 102 Conservative councils supporting government plans to give councils the right to zone areas that would be free from restricted trading hours. |
| Brandon Lewis, the communities minister who received the letter, argues that the current law prevents shops that cover more than 3,000 sq ft from opening for more than six hours on a Sunday. Lewis says that allowing department stores, supermarkets and garden centres to open for longer would rejuvenate high streets. | Brandon Lewis, the communities minister who received the letter, argues that the current law prevents shops that cover more than 3,000 sq ft from opening for more than six hours on a Sunday. Lewis says that allowing department stores, supermarkets and garden centres to open for longer would rejuvenate high streets. |