Whitehall ‘blob’ halts repeal of Brexit laws
PM faces backbench fury after less than half of 4,800 EU rules could be scrapped
KEMI BADENOCH has said that it was impossible to push ahead with government plans to scrap all European Union laws because of Whitehall intransigence.
The Business Secretary announced last night that she could only immediately scrap or reform about 600 EU laws because of the situation she inherited.
The climbdown comes despite Rishi Sunak pledging to scrap all EU rules remaining on the statute book by the end of the year. Jacob Rees-mogg, the Cabinet minister responsible for the reforms under Boris Johnson, accused Mr Sunak of inertia and said that the “blob” had triumphed.
In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Mrs Badenoch blamed unnamed Whitehall officials for the move but insisted that her new approach will lead to greater regulatory reform.
“When I was handed responsibility for this Bill, I saw that, confronted with the default position of retained EU law sunsetting at the end of this year, Whitehall departments had focused on which laws should be preserved ahead of the deadline, rather than pursuing the meaningful reform Government and businesses want to see,” she said.
“I decided a new approach was needed; one that will ensure ministers and officials are freed up to focus on more reform of REUL [Retained EU Law], and to do it faster.”
During his leadership campaign, Mr Sunak pledged to repeal or review 2,400 EU laws in his first 100 days as Prime Minister. The Government’s commitment to scrapping all such laws by the end of 2023 under existing legislation was pushed back as civil servants kept finding new EU laws. They are now believed to have found 4,800.
Mr Rees-mogg, the former Brexit secretary, 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.
“It is a victory for the ‘blob’ over a specific promise from the Prime Minister. Deregulation that could have reduced prices, lowering inflation has been abandoned because of idle civil servants and inert ministers.”
The climbdown has angered Tory Brexiteers, with 20 backbenchers meeting Simon Hart, the Chief Whip, last night to vent their concerns. The Government is expected to publish a list of 600 Bills that would be scrapped imminently. It said 500 more would be scrapped as part of other legislation, and that 1,000 laws had already been repealed or altered.
However, this means that by the end of 2023, far less than half of the promised 4,800 laws would be axed.
Mrs Badenoch insisted that even after the end of the year, it will be possible to repeal more laws.
“Getting rid of EU law in the UK should be about more than a race to a deadline,” she said. “It should be about making sure our laws work for the people who use them. Regulatory reform is integral to the Prime Minister’s mission to boost the UK economy; a mission that puts business, consumers, and the British public first.”
She added: “I will make it a priority to inject new impetus into the project to identify and scrap even more unnecessary regulations. By the end of 2023, we will end the supremacy of EU law and provide our courts with the ability to depart from European Court of Justice case law. With this we fully take back control of our laws – as promised in the Conservative Party manifesto.”
Mr Sunak is facing a backlash over the move, which Labour branded a “humiliating U-turn”. One senior member of the European Research Group
said: “We are very disappointed that the REUL Bill, which passed through the Commons with the overwhelming sup- port of the parliamentary party, is now being watered down, by our own Government, in the Lords.
“There is still time to avert this decision and we very much hope the Government will reconsider.”
Another Brexiteer MP said: “This is dangerous for Rishi Sunak. He sold himself as someone who was trustworthy and he’s broken that promise. His pool of committed supporters is shallower than it was before.
“The incentive for Tory MPS to sit around late at night to vote is diminished when a government does not govern. It will undermine the majority.”
Lord Jackson of Peterborough, a Tory peer, tweeted: “Ditching this Bill but about to publish a Conversion Practices Bill at the behest of Stonewall, which will be divisive and will criminalise thousands. Yes. A Conservative Government.”
Jenny Chapman, Labour’s Cabinet Office spokesman, said: “This is a humiliating U-turn from a weak and divided government with no clue how to grow our economy, protect workers, support business or build a better Britain outside the EU.”