The Staggers

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Will Cameron go to war with Conservative Christians?

The repeal of Sunday trading laws and the introduction of gay marriage could trigger a backlash.

By George Eaton Published 15 August 2012 9:11

Prime Minister and Conservative leader David Cameron. Photograph: Getty Images.

David Cameron reads during the service of thanksgiving to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Photograph: Getty Images.

When George Osborne announced the suspension of Sunday trading laws for the Olympics, the government assured the public and retailers that it was a temporary measure. Yet, as was inevitable, ministers, including Osborne and Eric Pickles, are now pushing for them to be permanently abandoned. Downing Street has insisted that they won't be (describing the suspension as "a specific thing for the Olympics"), without quite ruling out the move altogether.

Cameron is right to tread carefully. It was over this issue that Margaret Thatcher suffered her first and only Commons defeat when 72 Conservative MPs voted against the complete repeal of the laws in 1986. The introduction of an equivalent bill today would likely spark a similar rebellion. Tory MP Mark Pritchard, for instance, has said:

I think all of us deserve rest and that includes shop workers.

As somebody who has worked in a shop on a Sunday, and not every Conservative MP has done that, I know that there is a lot of pressure on workers to turn up, there’s a question of whether people are overlooked for promotion.

The abandonment of Sunday trading laws would hurt small retailers the most and remove an important constraint on market rule. Unsurprisingly, then, the public are opposed to the measure by 52% to 36%. For obvious reasons, the abolition of Sunday trading laws would also antagonise churchgoing voters. Cameron's decision to press ahead with plans to introduce gay marriage has already alienated conservative Christians and is currently the top reason for Tory members resigning from the party. The Daily Mail's Andrew Pierce reported that thousands "ripped up their membership cards and refused to renew their subscriptions." He added:

The alarm bells sounded in the Tory HQ, which in January launched a national appeal to try to persuade waverers to return to the fold. The appeal was a dismal failure.

ConservativeHome's Paul Goodman has previously dubbed the coalition "the most anti-Christian Government in British history" Whether this is true or not (and the answer likely depends on which kind of Christian you are referring to), is less important than the fact that some Christians are now asking this question. Were Cameron making progress among those groups - black and ethnic-minority voters, public-sector workers, Scottish voters - that refused to support him in 2010, he could afford to risk alienating thousands of Conservative christians. But he is not. In today's Mail, George Pitcher, Rowan Williams's former public affairs secretary, writes of "Cameron's contempt for religion in general and the Church of England in particular." If this view gains currency on the right, the Prime Minister will be in trouble.

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Tags: David Cameron Conservatives Gay Marriage Religion

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17 comments

Thu, 2012-08-16 13:15 — Senua (not verified)

Lots of people work on sundays especially in the tourist industry. Those who are going on about spending time with their families should remember that many of the places they go to on a sunday with them, such as theme parks, museums, zoos and other tourist attractions, are open because people are working on a sunday. I work every sunday. It doesnt bother me as I have a couple of days off in the week. As long as I have a rest I dont care what day it is. I dont need a special day to spend time with family and friends, I always have time for them no matter how busy I am. Sunday being a rest day is and always has been a christian concept and one that needs to be dropped. We live in the 21st century not the middle ages. The church is hypocritical. It has never cared much about family values. You only have to read the history books to realise that. You dont need to be religious to have a loving family and you dont need a certain day of the week to be with them.

Thu, 2012-08-16 16:34 — Keir

'Sunday being a rest day is and always has been a christian concept'

Incorrect.

Thu, 2012-08-16 18:15 — AndrewR

Come on Keir, you can do better than that! Let's hear the knock down argument. Why is it specifically Sunday that is arbitrarily put aside as a day of rest, if not because certain individuals believe that it is divinely mandated?

Thu, 2012-08-16 18:15 — AndrewR

Come on Keir, you can do better than that! Let's hear the knock-down argument. Why is it specifically Sunday that is arbitrarily put aside as a day of rest, if not because certain individuals believe that it is divinely mandated?

Thu, 2012-08-16 18:15 — AndrewR

Wed, 2012-08-15 18:10 — jankaas (not verified)

on the other side of the coin; do people really need yet another day to spend money they don't have?

Wed, 2012-08-15 15:22 — Davidaslindsay (not verified)

It comes as absolutely no surprise that Eric Pickles, who has made such a show of defending prayers at local council meetings, is "open-minded" about retaining in perpetuity the "relaxation for the duration of the Olympics" of what little Sunday trading legislation remained in place after the last Conservative Government.

It is to the everlasting shame of Labour that, having rightly opposed this regression to the days before Nonconformist Radicals freed the working classes from the tyranny of seven-day working weeks, it failed to repeal that regression while in office.

Unworthy of the Christian Socialist pioneers? Certainly. But also unworthy of Socialist International partners such as the Sunday-protecting Mayor of Paris, who is exactly as godly as any other flamboyantly homosexual French left-winger.

Still, that is the past now. Chuka Umunna, a key Blue Labour ally, is on the case. Will the Tory papers nevertheless continue to give uncritical support to the Conservative Party? If so, then how can they expect to be counted as anything other than election expenditure by that party? And where would that leave ostentatious anti-Leveson noises about the freedom of the press?

Wed, 2012-08-15 14:29 — Geraint (not verified)

Shop workers already work long, often unsocial hours, struggle to find time to spend with their family and are usually very exhausted after a difficult day in work, dealing with some horrible people, for very little pay. People deserve at least some time off, without having to be under pressure to work late on Sundays.

Wed, 2012-08-15 14:23 — Des Demona (not verified)

The short answer is no.
But if he really wanted to find something populist to hang his hat on, here is a question I think most of us would like answered.
How is it that when someone commits fraud on a bank they go to jail but when a bank committs fraud on anyone they just pay a bung and get away with no jail time for those involved?, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Barclays etc etc etc. .
Not one day of jail time amongst the lot of them.

Do something about that and we might gave some credence to your ' we're all in this together' mantra

Wed, 2012-08-15 13:39 — terence patrick hewett1

Politicians never seem to learn: if you pick a serious fight with either the CofE, the Catholics or Judaism you are going to get a bloody nose; they are organised and committed and know all about persecution. So go ahead Mr Cameron; I only hope you've got a good doctor.

Wed, 2012-08-15 10:22 — Dark Heart of Toryland (not verified)

It would be entirely wrong to ban Sunday shopping merely because Christians say so; why should their opinions carry any more weight than the rest of the population? However, the argument for allowing people to have a national day off once a week is compelling, and should be supported for reasons of workers' rights.

Wed, 2012-08-15 14:22 — Gareth

Look at the quote in the article:

"I think all of us deserve rest and that includes shop workers... there is a lot of pressure on workers to turn up, there’s a question of whether people are overlooked for promotion."

Why do you mischaracterise this as being "because Christians say so"? Why do you imply that it is wrong for a Christian to argue for the importance of rest, but consider it appropriate for those who are not Christians to make exactly the same point?

Wed, 2012-08-15 19:30 — Keir

Christians don't argue for physical rest any more than anyone else does. Mischaracterisation is unwise.

Wed, 2012-08-15 13:40 — Keir

There is no compelling case for a week, national or otherwise. There is certainly a case for workers to negotiate for their labour, just as there is a case for negotiation in any sort of trade. Workers can negotiate for 'TOIL', time off in lieu, if this is deemed necessary and appropriate.

Wed, 2012-08-15 10:13 — godless lefty

"The most anti-Christian government in British history" hahahahaha

I love mindless exaggeration. Just goes to just how arrogant many on the right are. They are given an education system that does not allow for the existence of secular schools; they have a parliament that has religious representation in both houses; they have seen legislation passed that exempts religious groups from anti-discrimination legislation; they get a third of new 'free schools' with a religious denomination.

What effing more do they want? Personally I can't wait to see all those things above taken away. We need secular schools and absolutely no Christian presence in parliament. We all need parity, so no exemptions from the law, either. These moaning idiots need to realise they are not special.

Wed, 2012-08-15 10:14 — godless lefty

"The most anti-Christian government in British history" hahahahaha

Wed, 2012-08-15 09:24 — andywaltonbolton (not verified)

It's not just 'Conservative' Christians who oppose liberalisation of Sunday trading laws. A wide variety of us who have differing opinions on gay marriage are thoroughly opposed to Osbourne destroying the restrictions on trading.

Surely all lefties can see why holding the line is important? Neo-liberalism has driven a coach and horses through family life, and a worker's ability to have a day of family time. This isn;t just a 'Christian' issue as such, but if Conservative Christians are opposing it, I and many others will be in the trenches alongside them.