Backing for ‘Henry VIII’ powers plan

Move to allow law changes

Controversial “Henry VIII” powers to change European Union laws as they are repatriated to Britain without full parliamentary scrutiny will not allow the government to act like a dictator, a Cabinet minister has said.

Commons Leader David Lidington defended the plans, to be outlined on Thursday in a white paper on the Great Repeal Bill that will convert EU regulations into domestic law, crucially allowing them to be altered or removed after Brexit.

Time-limited Henry VIII clauses will allow ministers to use delegated powers to make changes to EU laws as they become UK laws in the Bill using secondary legislation, meaning the changes will not be subject to full debates and votes by MPs.

The government argues it needs the power as a significantproportion of existing EU law will not work properly without changes being made, so ministers must be given the ability to make “technical” changes quickly.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has made clear Labour will oppose the “essentially dictatorial powers” but Mr Lidington insisted they would be “limited and defined”.

Mr Lidington said: “Because a lot of those EU regulations will, for example, refer to the commission or another European body, a regulator, you need to substitute a UK authority in place. So we need to have a power to tweak the acquis, the European regulations so that it’s actually coherent.

“It will be a limited and defined power, not to act like a dictator, but by secondary legislation.”

But Mr Corbyn insisted there needs to be “total accountability” at every stage of the Brexit negotiations.

He said: “I don’t think the record ofHenry VIII on promoting democracy, inclusion and participation was a very good one.”

The Henry VIII powers will end at a time spelled out in the legislation and will also be handed to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

David Lidington