AS a new convert to the wonders of the Olympics, I’m interested to see what the legacy of the London Games will be.
A few more children taking up athletics and a lot of empty stadia would be my guess on the sporting front.
But what impact might the Olympics end up having on Sunday trading?
During the games, the Government suspended the rules which prevent large stores from opening for more than six hours on what used to be known as “the day of rest”.
The Institute of Directors has urged ministers to make this change permanent, saying the current restrictive regime is “silly” because it holds back both people who want to work and people who want to shop.
The campaign group Keep Sunday Special and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers take the opposite view, claiming more Sabbath opening will disrupt family life while doing nothing to boost the economy.
I will be interested to see if the Government does lift the restrictions because I can see the merits of both sides.
I’ve worked on Sundays for years and it’s never done me any harm.
When I was a student I used to work at a Co-op convenience store from 8am every Sunday, which sounds much worse than it was. If we got 10 customers in the first two hours that would count as busy. Effectively I was being paid to read magazines.
And I do the odd Sabbath now in my reporting role – that’s why I was the only person at Sunday’s Mirfield Show who was wearing a suit.
But, as long as I get the time off later on in the week, I’ve no objection to working on the so-called Lord’s Day.
And that’s the striking thing about this debate – it’s all about family time, consumer choice, supermarket overheads and working conditions.
God isn’t in this discussion at all. Religious people who want to prevent further Sunday trading for their own sectarian reasons know they can’t win the debate on those terms any more.
As an atheist, I find that very encouraging.
