Let Me Shop On Sundays Please

Occasionally, I want to go buy something from a shop later on a Sunday afternoon.

Currently, I am not allowed to.

Many shops close at 4pm.  Others at 5pm.  If you are lucky, or in central London (also lucky) then 6pm.

Many of us across the country work Monday to Friday – many of the shops are closed when we are not at work on these 5 days, unless you happen to live in a vibrant metropolitan area or close to a major shopping centre.

Weekends are two precious days filled with a variety of activities for many people – for myself I study all day on Saturday and relax in the evening.  On Sunday I study for much of the day and then go out for a late lunch.  Maybe I’ll try to enjoy some sunshine during the summer, go to a football game or go to the pub for a pint.

Many an occasion I have wanted to go shopping late on a Sunday afternoon but have been inhibited from doing so by arcane laws devised so shops in the town centre, or supermarkets, can only open 6 hours.

Instead I often have to put off my purchase – or simply not make my purchase at all, thereby reducing the income of local shops.

Sometimes I can order what I want from the likes of Amazon instead.  And I guess at some point they will probably be able to deliver me anything I want on a Sunday evening within 30 minutes, so maybe I shouldn’t be complaining.

But it makes no sense why I can go to a Tesco Express at 5pm on a Sunday – but not a WH Smith.  Nor can I go buy a plunger from Wilko.  Or a pair of socks from Primark.

Now I see a whole host of the usual anti-business crackpots from the SNP and Labour are voting against sensible suggestions of economic freedom for businesses and consumers – backed by a few crazed Tories for whom I cannot for the life of me understand why they would be anti-business.

Some people are even bemoaning the loss of the “Christian sabbath”.  Blame Mr Darwin for that one as he has proven your stories to be codswallop.

Please just let us shop on a Sunday at normal trading hours.