I'm On The Fence With This One......

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38286794
I think they have a point really I mean we'll all have a hundred weight of food etc so there's no actual need for the shops to be open but on the other hand I don't think we should be telling the shops when they can open, tricky one!

[hereIam]

Not bothered either way to be honest, but I never shop on B Day.

[dannyk13]

It doesn't actually say who wants the shops to close on boxing day.The employees or the PC brigade?

[andy-hughes]

I'm with you on this TTT.

On the one hand, I feel sorry for retail staff who have the nightmare of Boxing Day to look forward to, which must put a crimp in their Christmas Day celebrations.

On the other hand, it's the busiest day because of the combination of people who only have that one day off before they return to work, coupled with the need to escape from their families after the strain of the 'big day'.

But I think the message that the government cannot dictate retailing patters will win the day. After all, as retail shifts more to on-line, and away from the high street, shops will not be keen to give up this bonanza day easily.

[douglas9401]

Since the Boxing Day sales have been moved to the end of November for years now, what is the point of pretending BD even matters any more?
Give the poor slaves a day to recover after earnestly celebrating the birth of the son of God to a virgin and a slightly shamefaced carpenter.

[New Judge]

I personally see no reason why people should feel the need to shop on Boxing Day. Shopping is a torrid experience to be undertaken only when absolutely necessary and then as rapidly as possible. However a “busy” life you lead it’s quite simple to arrange your affairs so that you don’t have to go near any shops on a public holiday. But people do. Incredible as it appears to me, some people see it as a “treat” whereas I would see it as an abomination.


“But the government has said it will not tell retailers "how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers".”

Which sums up the folly of these online petitions. There is not a cat in hell’s chance of the Commons legislating on Boxing Day opening. And nor should they. All that's happening is three hours of Commons time is being wasted.

[Gromit]

Boxing day has traditionally been a shopping day. No reason to change it because a few religious nut jobs think it is ungodley.

[andy-hughes]

New Judge - I cannot gainsay your point, but we have to accept that we live in a world where shopping is a genuine pleasure for millions of people, and the added frisson of a 'bargain' simply enhances that.

[Gromit]

// In the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, much like Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) in the United States.
It is a time when shops hold sales often with dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. In the UK in 2009 it was estimated that up to 12 million shoppers appeared at the sales (a rise of almost 20% compared to 2008. //

[Jackdaw33]

I beg to disagree. When I was young shops were firmly closed on Boxing Day. If the Xmas holiday fell on a weekend you would have 4 days of shop closure.

[Baldric]

No odds to us, we don't go anywhere near a Shop on Boxing Day.

[wendilla]

Me neither .need Boxing Day to get over Xmas day .

[Gromit]

Boxing Day became a bank holiday in 1871. When I was young Boxing Day sales occured at bigger Department Stores, while smaller shops tended to close.

[New Judge]

"...we have to accept that we live in a world where shopping is a genuine pleasure for millions of people, and the added frisson of a 'bargain' simply enhances that."

Absolutely agree, Andy. That is why the government has no business interfering in the affairs of business. Almost every tie they do they usually manage to adversely affect things they have no knowledge of.

I understand that shop workers may feel adversely affected by Boxing Day opening. But when you enter the retail business you have to accept that you will be working when everybody else might be out shopping (or watching the racing on TV).

[Deskdiary]

The Government has said it will not tell retailers “how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers”.

Really?

So why can’t I go to a supermarket before 10am or after 4pm on a Sunday? The Government, through pressure from a minority group – the religious – are telling shops how best to run their business or best serve their customers when it comes to Sunday trading.

I think all businesses should be perfectly at Liberty to choose when they are open for business – if B&Q wants to stay open until 10pm on a Sunday, I really struggle to see what it has to do with the Government, and even less so what it has to do with the religious.

[ummmm]

It's just another day to me. As long as my local corner shop is open I don't care...

[melv16]

The more people shopping means fewer people in the Peak District, where, hopefully I'll be walking.

[Gromit]

Governments should not be dictating when merchants can trade. It should be the merchant to decide when it is profitable for them to work. And it should not be stopping trading to please the church.

[Zacs-Master]

From the article:
'abour MP Helen Jones will lead the debate in Westminster Hall. It will not involve a vote so cannot enforce a change in the law'

No dictating involved.

[woofgang]

so shops won’t open....nothing there to suggest prohibiting staff working at online retailers......

[Gromit]

// It will not involve a vote so cannot enforce a change in the law' //

// No dictating involved. //

Er, so it is just a waste of time. Show will open on Boxing Day if they want to.