Left and right are united against extended Sunday opening hours in Belfast.

A council plan to let large stores open all day – currently they can open only in the afternoon – is opposed by trade unions, who argue it would put pressure on workers and damage family and community life, and some business groups, who say it would harm small independent retailers.

The plan is also opposed by political parties across the left-right and orange-green spectrum. The SDLP, Greens, People Before Profit and all three unionist parties are against. Only Sinn Féin and Alliance are in favour, although that is enough for a majority, meaning the plan is likely to succeed. They argue extended opening will serve the tourist industry and improve footfall for all businesses, large and small.

The absence of Sabbatarianism in this debate is striking and possibly suspicious to anyone over the age of 40. Can Christian influence have abated so quickly? While religious observance is being mentioned, it is without the prominence and intensity of the last time the council considered the same issue, between 2016 and 2018, when Alliance was the only party to support it.

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