Now only ‘trivial’ EU laws will be scrapped, Tory MPs warn
WATERED-DOWN plans to scrap EU laws will now remove only the most ‘ trivial’ Brussels regulations, MPs warned last night.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the Commons European scrutiny committee accused ministers of failing to deal with EU red tape that is hampering economic growth.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch sparked Brexiteer anger last week when she dropped a pledge to scrap all 5,000 EU laws on the UK statute book by the end of this year. Instead, she proposed removing just 600.
In a withering verdict, the committee accused the Government of targeting only the most minor Brussels regulations for removal. Chairman Sir Bill Cash said an initial assessment of the 600 laws proposed for deletion showed that, ‘almost without exception’, they relate to ‘matters that are trivial, obsolete and are not legally and/or politically important.’
Examples highlighted by the committee include removing EU rules on the allocation of fishing quotas for the democratic republic of Sao Tome; scrapping quota rules for the import of 8,000 tonnes of wheat bran from the French overseas territory of Reunion, and revoking temporary exemptions to working hours rules for drivers working during the 2001 foot and mouth crisis.
Former Cabinet minister Jacob ReesMogg said the decision to scale back the bonfire of EU regulations was ‘pathetically under-ambitious’.
He said the list of laws to be retained ‘could have been drawn up by Baldrick’, a reference to the bungling character in the BBC’s comedy series Blackadder. Mr ReesMogg told the National Conservatism Conference: ‘Rishi Sunak made a specific promise to scrap thousands of EU laws. He’s broken that promise.
‘This is very unfortunate, as one of his virtues is his trustworthiness, and the surrender to the “Blob” risks exposing the Government to ridicule.
‘It also risks making us poorer, because restoring economic growth is vital.’
The ‘Blob’ is a term used by Tory ministers to describe obstructive civil servants who undermine plans for reform.
Despite criticism that the Retained EU Law Bill had been fatally weakened, the House of Lords last night inflicted the first defeat on the legislation. Peers voted by 245 to 154 to back plans to establish a committee to review each EU law that is proposed for removal.