UK Government’s rush to scrap EU law branded ‘crazy’

Legal experts and industry representatives have said that the Government’s EU Retained Law Bill will leave businesses, consumers and civil servants scrambling to understand and deal with the impact of the mass scrapping of legislation, putting worker, health and environmental protections at risk. 

In a public evidence session to the MPs and business leaders of the UK Trade and Business Commission this morning, witnesses detailed how new costs and legal uncertainties caused by the Bill could spell disaster for businesses and create a scenario in which rights to paid holidays, rest breaks, and parental leave for workers are not guaranteed, where dangerous products are sold and toxic materials like asbestos are used in construction. 

The Commission heard that the government did not consult with industry on the impact of this Bill and that it was being pursued as an “ideological project” at the expense of UK businesses. Their testimony comes one week after the former farming Minister confirmed that the post-Brexit Australia deal is bad for the UK, raising fears that the government will again pursue damaging policy for positive political optics.

Witnesses also warned that the bill would further damage the UK’s international reputation already tarnished by repeated threats from the UK Government to break international law with the NI Protocol Bill.  

Echoing the witnesses at the session, the cross-party commission is calling on the government to scrap the EU Retained Law Bill, to prevent businesses and consumers being thrown into greater uncertainty during an already challenging economic period.

Peter Norris, Co-Convenor of the UK Trade and Business Commission and Chair of Virgin Group, who led this session, said:

“The government appears to be so consumed with ideology that it is failing to recognise the overwhelming consensus that this Bill would cause immeasurable damage. 

“Ministers should let common sense prevail, heed calls from industry experts and scrap the Bill.”

Simon Joyston-Bechal, Director, Turnstone Law, said:

“If there was a specific law they wanted to change, they’d be talking about it and changing it.

“What we’re looking at is potentially crazy if they really mean it–the uncertainty and the cost have been discussed. The bill should, in my view, be dropped.”

Rosa Crawford, Policy Officer, TUC, said:

“It’s a race to the bottom scenario where only bad employers benefit. As I say, the good employers that we’re working with, the vast range of employers that we’ve heard from, do not want this either.

“What we need is for this bill to be dropped.”

William Bain, Head of Trade Policy, British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“This kind of theological approach to some of the issues around the status of EU law was not something that we requested or we view as particularly necessary at all”

“The priority of officials and civil servants in BEIS and in other departments should be…getting us out of recession as quickly as possible. And if they’re diverted from that task…then we think that doesn't serve the country well at all.”