[1] Introduced by the Government of Margaret Thatcher, it was defeated in the House of Commons at its second reading; this is the most recent occasion at which a government bill has fallen at that stage.
The Auld Committee, chaired by Robin Auld, found that the regime established by the 1950 Act was unworkable, with arbitrary exemptions and widespread breaches by large retailers.
[3] The subsequent Auld Report recommended that the Shops Act 1950 be repealed, which the government accepted and adopted into its legislative programme.
[3] Thatcher had anticipated that the Labour Party would oppose the bill, spurred by trade unions' fears that shopworkers would be forced to work on Sundays.
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