Boxing Day petition discussed in Parliament

A petition which received over 140,000 signatures, to ban stores from opening on Boxing Day, was discussed in Parliament last night, but the suggestion was rejected by the majority of MPs.

Helen Jones, Labour MP for Warrington North, said that the "debt-fuelled shopping binge" that takes place on Boxing Day is unfair to retail workers, and suggested that the reason many shops opened was not because they benefited from an uplift in sales, but merely because their rivals did.

Some MPs sympathised with retail employees but said that shutting physical stores was of no benefit to those who work for online retailers, who would be fulfilling online orders on Boxing Day.

The debate did not involve a vote, therefore could not have resulted in a change in the law, but allowed MPs to demonstrate whether it is an issue with much support in Parliament.

Ahead of the discussion, the Government released the following statement:

"We do not believe it is for central Government to tell businesses how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers. Therefore we are not proposing to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day."

Read the Government's full response to the petition here.

Source : Insight DIY

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