The United Kingdom Government is reportedly planning to postpone plans to ditch thousands of laws on its statute books that were implemented when the country was still a member of the European Union.
The move to delay the Retained EU Laws Bill has infuriated hard-line Brexiteers, notably the Bill’s original sponsor, Jacob Rees-Mogg. However, a mass cross-party revolt in Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, meant the legislation would be hard to pass in its current form.
Under the Bill’s provisions, more than 4,000 EU laws, kept on the UK statute book after Brexit to ensure continuity, would be automatically scrapped at the end of this year unless Ministers decided there should be exemptions.
A key complaint of those opposed is the way it would cut both Houses of Parliament out of decisions on which EU laws should be ditched, ceding that power to Public Servants and Ministers.
Mr Rees-Mogg (Pictured) and his fellow Brexiteers reject this as irrelevant, saying the main issue is to ensure leaving the EU restores sovereignty.
The extent of opposition to the Bill from business, environmental groups, unions and the EU itself, left Ministers with no option but to consider delay, and moving to a scaled-down and less hurried version.
Concern has also been rising within Government Departments over the amount of Public Service time that the Bill has been taking.
More recently, there are fears the legal fallout from passing the Bill could complicate Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework deal with the EU on the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
No new dates have been set for a resumption of the Bill’s progress, but members of the House of Lords now believe it will be put back by months and possibly beyond the next General Election, due before the end of next year.
London, 11 April 2023
