The Shops Bill 1986 was a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

that would have ended government regulation of Sunday shopping in England and Wales. Introduced by the Government of Margaret Thatcher, it was defeated in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at its

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

: the last time that a government bill had fallen at that stage. The

Shops Act 1950 The Shops Act 1950 was an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which was repealed on 1 December 1994 by the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. The introductory text describes it as "An Act to consolidate the Shops ...

regulated Sunday shopping hours, making it illegal for shops to sell most products on a Sunday. The Auld Committee, chaired by

Robin Auld Sir Robin Ernest Auld, (born 19 July 1937) is a former Lord Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Early life and career Born in Staines to Adelaide ( Mackie) and Ernest Auld, a toolmaker who later became a publican ...

, found that the regime established by the 1950 Act was unworkable, with arbitrary exemptions and widespread breaches by large retailers. The consequent Auld Report recommended that the Shops Act 1950 be repealed, which the government accepted and adopted into its legislative programme. Thatcher had anticipated that the Labour Party would oppose the bill, spurred by

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s' fears that shopworkers would be forced to work on Sundays. However, she did not anticipate the backlash from

social conservatives Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

. 72

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

s defied a

three line whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

, voting against the bill at second reading – just after midnight on the morning of 15 April 1986 – and it was defeated by 14 votes. This occasion marks one of only four times Thatcher was defeated in the

, and the only time an entire government bill was defeated during her tenure. Sunday trading was ultimately relaxed by the

Sunday Trading Act 1994 The Sunday Trading Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing the right of shops in England and Wales to trade on a Sunday. Buying and selling on Sunday had previously been illegal, with exceptions, under the Shops Ac ...

, the twenty-seventh attempt to do so.

Footnotes

External links

Commons vote at second reading
Proposed laws of the United Kingdom Retailing in England 1986 in British law 1986 in England Sunday shopping 1986 in Wales Retailing in Wales {{UK-law-stub

See also

Footnotes

External links