May to change laws in push for Brexit
Prime Minister faces opposition over proposal which would remove parliamentary approval
THERESA MAY will this week announce she is to push ahead with a major shake-up of Britain’s laws to make sure they are ready for Brexit.
The Prime Minister will reveal detailed plans for how she will repeal the European Communities Act that formally took Britain into the EU 45 years ago. She will also say how ministers will convert thousands of EU laws and directives into UK law to make sure they are applicable after Brexit.
Government sources said the move would ensure the UK Parliament’s sovereignty is restored by ending the power of European courts over Britain.
However, Mrs May’s plans are likely to spark a major new battle with Parliament over the 500-year-old power she wants to use to make the changes.
Mrs May wants to use an ancient power known as Henry VIII clauses that would allow her to change existing laws without Parliament’s full approval.
The provisions are so named from the Statute of Proclamations 1539 which gave King Henry VIII power to legislate by proclamation. History will be made on Wednesday as the Prime Minister triggers Article 50 and formally begins Britain’s journey out of the EU. The PM is expected to send a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, notifying him. From then on the UK and the remaining EU countries have two years to negotiate an exit deal, meaning Brexit should be complete on 29 March 2019. Polling by ORB International for The
Sunday Telegraph has revealed that the public are increasingly confident with Mrs May’s handling of Brexit.
Some 51 per cent of people said they approved of how Brexit negotiations were being handled this month – up from 37 per cent in November.
Two thirds of people thought Britain would have more control over immigration outside the EU. More people also agree that the UK will be economically better off than disagree.
A White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill, designed to get Britain’s laws in shape for Brexit, will be published later this week.
Ministers insist they need the powers to “correct” European laws that refer to EU bodies soon to be defunct after Brexit. However, the proposals have triggered outcry from political opponents who say it means any legal changes will get less parliamentary scrutiny than usual. In an olive branch to critics who claim the move is a “power grab”, Mrs May will propose that the powers only last for a limited amount of time.
“The Government is clear that such a power will be time-limited, to apply before the UK leaves the EU and for a limited period afterwards,” a Whitehall source said. Mrs May will also propose that the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Parliaments are given the same power. The announcement is an apparent attempt to head off criticism of the SNP, which could try to block the change in the Scottish Parliament.
It is, however, unclear whether the concessions will be enough to win over critics in the House of Lords, where the Tories have no majority.
Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, pledged last week that the party would block any legislation involving such clauses.
He said: “This bill is the biggest power grab since the days of Henry VIII. The Liberal Democrats will not sit there and let the Government say all the right things while eroding vital rights and protections that makes Britain what it is. We will, if needed, grind the Government’s agenda to a standstill, unless proper and rigorous safeguards are given over the Great Repeal Bill. The ball is now in the Prime Minister’s court.”