Sunday trading rules 'are not respectful to Christian heritage'
Campaigners are urging the government not to relax Sunday trading rules, in order to maintain respect for the UK's Christian heritage.
Shopping centre bosses are calling for changes to be made because Boxing Day - a lucrative day for retailers - falls on a Sunday in 2010.
Although small stores can stay open, the Sunday Trading Act only allows for larger ones to sell their wares for six hours. Gordon McKinnon, operations director at Manchester's Trafford Centre, predicted that December 26th of next year will be "an absolute nightmare unless something is done", arguing that it is "lunacy" to turn people away in the current economic climate.
However, a spokesman for Keep Sunday Special - a registered charity supported by the Mothers' Union and other bodies - was quoted by the Telegraph as stating that the rules help respect Christian traditions and the faiths of those who wish to worship on the day. "Sundays should be a day for relationships with friends and family," he said.
Tim Pearson of The Way, said that there was a time when no major shops were open and that people were not expected to work on Sundays. Now there is pressure on Christians to conform to the Worlds standards. This is not Biblical and people should have a day that is different, peaceful, a time to chill out and worship God and spend time with their family and friends.
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