A week is a long time in politics – or so the saying goes. This has certainly proved true this week in the ever-shifting saga of the Government’s proposals to further liberalise Sunday trading laws in England and Wales.

For some time now, the Government has been hard at work to persuade its own MPs of the merits of its Sunday trading policy. From the moment the Chancellor confirmed it was the Government’s intention to give local authorities the power to determine Sunday trading laws there has been a small-in-number but strong-in-resolve Tory backbench campaign against the plans. Of course, the July 2015 Budget announcement following just three months on from a statement from the Prime Minister that the Government had no intention to legislate in this area did not help. Twenty of these rebels raised their heads above the parapet this week in a letter to the Telegraph.

Added to opposition from the Labour Party, the Government faced a difficult battle to win the vote which was expected to take place next Tuesday 17 November during Committee Stage of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill.

However, on Tuesday this became an almost impossible task as the SNP announced that they too would vote to oppose the Government’s proposals, citing concerns about the impact they would have on Sunday premium pay in Scotland.

Late on Tuesday afternoon the Government announced that their proposals had been put on hold. On the surface, this is so that the Government can consider the response to the public consultation conducted over the summer (though where was this concern for due process when the vote looked winnable for the Government?). Despite an eleventh hour intervention from the Liberal Democrats who seem poised to support the Government’s proposals, the reality is that the Government has stepped back from the brink of a Commons defeat after the SNP revealed its hand.

There is still scope for a Report Stage Cities Bill vote which would most likely be in late November or early December. Alternatively the Government may abandon its strategy of using the Cities Bill altogether and turn instead to the Enterprise Bill.

Any appearance of a lull in the intense activity from both sides which has thus far characterised this campaign is illusory. It may seem like the calm before the storm, but even if this were true – the calm is where all the preparation must be done in order to endure the trial to come. The Government has given no indication that it intends to back down – far from it.

A complicating factor is the looming implementation of so-called EVEL (English Votes for English Laws). Whilst on the surface this may seem to provide the Government with a ‘get out of jail free’ card, EVEL still provides capacity for Scottish and Northern Irish MPs to vote at certain stages of legislation. All is still to play for.

The take-home point is this: battle on this key issue for family life in the UK is ongoing and will be rejoined at full pace at some point in the near future and we cannot stand still.

Write to your MP today and ask them to urge the Prime Minister to shelve these proposals for good.

Keep up with the campaign by visiting www.keepsundayspecial.org.uk