Brexit backlash for Rishi as bonfire of EU red tape is hosed down by the Blob
RISHI Sunak was facing a Brexit backlash last night after watering down a pledge to scrap thousands of EU laws this year.
Ministers had promised a bonfire of EU red tape, removing all Brussels regulations from the statute book by the end of the year.
But, in a major climbdown last night, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said only a fraction of the estimated 5,000 EU laws would be removed by the deadline.
Mrs Badenoch, a prominent Brexiteer, said the Retained EU Law Bill would remove 600 regulations by the end of the year – about one in eight of the total.
She insisted the plan would still achieve its primary purpose of ‘taking back control of our laws after Brexit’, including ending the lingering role of the European Court of Justice.
‘We are taking back control of our laws after Brexit, reducing and improving regulation and giving businesses the freedom to do what they do best – sell innovative products, create jobs and grow the economy,’ she said.
Mrs Badenoch also confirmed that ministers will scrap an EU plan to require firms to report on the operation of the Working Time Directive, saving
‘Admission of failure’
business around £1billion a year. And she outlined plans for a new Better Regulation Framework, which will make new red tape ‘ the last, rather than first response of Government’.
But Eurosceptic MPs accused ministers of giving in to the civil service ‘ Blob’, which has resisted the plan since it was announced by former Brexit Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg last year.
Mr Rees-Mogg last night said: ‘This is an admission of administrative failure, an inability of Whitehall to do the necessary work and an incapability of ministers to push this through their own departments.
‘Regrettably, the Blob has triumphed and the Prime Minister has abandoned his promise.’
Last night, a delegation of Eurosceptic MPs met Chief Whip Simon Hart to warn against abandoning the key Brexit pledge.
After the meeting, a senior member of the European Research Group of pro-Brexit Tory MPs said it was ‘ very disappointing’ that the Government was watering down legislation that had already passed the Commons with ‘overwhelming support’.
‘There is still time to avert this decision and we very much hope the Government will reconsider,’ the source said.
One former Cabinet minister warned that the PM would face ‘real trouble’ when the proposal reaches the Commons.
‘We have got to finally get Brexit done,’ the source said.
‘We cannot go into an election next year, eight years after the referendum, and still be under the yoke of EU laws.
The PM promised to deal with this – if he backs down now he is going to face real trouble.’
Whitehall sources said officials had faced a genuine struggle in identifying all the laws which had derived from the UK’s 40year membership of the EU. When Mr Rees- Mogg first unveiled the plan in June last year, officials believed they would have to deal with around 2,400 Brussels regulations.
But that number had doubled to 4,830 by yesterday, and officials believe more are likely to be found in the coming months.
One source said there was a real danger that a blanket ‘ sunset clause’ on all EU laws could have led to regulations being scrapped accidentally, with potentially serious legal consequences.
‘The problem is that no systematic record of EU legislation was kept because until 2016 no-one ever expected us to leave the EU – this process was never anticipated,’ the source said. Mrs Badenoch yesterday acknowledged that the end of year deadline had created ‘legal uncertainty’ for businesses.
The climb down is embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who had pledged to accelerate the process.
During last summer’s leadership contest he posted a campaign video of documents being shredded, and pledged to ‘review or repeal all EU laws’ in his first 100 days in office.
Mr Sunak said the move was needed to ‘keep Brexit safe’. Mr Rees-Mogg last night said the PM has ‘shredded his own promise rather than EU laws’.
The Business and Trade Department yesterday said it had already scrapped around 1,000 EU regulations. The EU Retained Law Bill will remove another 600, while the Financial Services and Markets Bill will scrap a further 500.
But more than half of the EU laws identified will now remain on the statute book at the end of this year. Sources said these would be ‘reviewed, consulted on or revoked’ next year.
Labour described the move as a ‘humiliating U-turn’.
But it was broadly welcomed by campaign groups.
The RSPCA, which had warned against ditching animal welfare laws without consultation, said the delay was a ‘great win for animals’.
‘Shredded his own promise’