UK Ditches Promised End-of-Year ‘Bonfire’ of Remaining EU Laws

The Union Flag and a European Union flag fly in Parliament Square, in central London, on Sept. 9, 2017. (Tolga Akmen/Reuters)

The UK government has ditched its promise to complete a post-Brexit “bonfire” of remaining EU laws by the end of the year.

Under the government’s draft Retained EU Law Bill, almost all EU laws copied into the UK statute book following Brexit would be automatically revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument is passed to preserve it.

Critics argue the bill hands too much power to the government, creates uncertainty, and threatens legal rights and protections.

Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade, departs the weekly Cabinet meeting at Downing Street, in central London, on May 2, 2023. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

In a written statement issued on Wednesday, business secretary Kemi Badenoch acknowledged that the “sunset clause” would create “risks of legal uncertainty.”

She said the government is amending the bill to replace the current sunset with a list of 600 EU laws to be revoked by the end of the year.

It had been estimated that around 3,700 laws would need ditching but governmental departments are understood to have now identified around 4,800 retained laws.

Badenoch said, “We will still fully take back control of our laws and end the supremacy and special status of retained EU law by the end of 2023.”

She said around 1,000 pieces of retained EU legislation have been scrapped already, though government data shows 906 EU laws have been dealt with so far, and only 245 of those have been repealed.

Badenoch also said that the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the Procurement Bill will revoke around a further 500 pieces of EU legislation.

Promise ‘Abandoned’

Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who introduced the plans when he was in Liz Truss’s Cabinet, accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of having broken his promise to review or appeal all EU laws in his first hundred days.

“Instead, he has decided to keep nearly 90 percent of retained EU law,” said the former business secretary.

“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.

“There is a missed opportunity to deregulate and to make the UK economy more efficient and competitive. This is especially important in an inflationary era as it would have reduced prices. An important economic opportunity has, therefore, been given up.

“Regrettably, ‘the blob’ has triumphed and the prime minister has abandoned his promise.”

Badenoch sought to defend the move in an article for the Daily Telegraph, writing: “We will not abolish any law for the sake of it. The laws we will retain are essential to the effective functioning of business and industry.

“We will not reduce workers’ rights and protections, nor will we repeal maternity rights, or threaten the high environmental standards currently in place, and we will ensure that we do not revoke legislation required to uphold our international obligations.”

She added: “Getting rid of EU law in the UK should be about more than a race to a deadline. It should be about making sure our laws work for the people who use them.”

‘Humiliating U-turn’

The government’s move has been welcomed by the business community.

Jane Gratton, head of people policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said British businesses have been “worried about the headlong rush towards the sudden removal of vast swathes of legislation overnight, that could make it harder to compete internationally.”

“It is welcome that government has listened, and the Retained EU Law Bill will no longer apply a blanket sunset clause in this way, with the real risk of unintended but negative consequences,” she added.

Opposition parties have ridiculed the government over the “humiliating U-turn.”

Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister Jenny Chapman 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.

“After wasting months of parliamentary time, the Tories have conceded that this universally unpopular bill will damage the economy, at a time when businesses and families are already struggling with the Tory cost-of-living crisis.”

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox said: “The Conservative government have dug themselves into a hole with this Retained EU Law Bill. While they may have stopped digging, they’re still in the hole.

“In their desperate attempts to avoid this legislation turning into chaos, they’re still leaving a lot of uncertainty. Both the public and businesses should be able to go on without being constantly concerned by the precariousness of so many of our laws.

“For the Liberal Democrats, the fight is not over. We will push to remove as much of this uncertainty as possible, looking closely over the list of regulations due to be scrapped, and fighting to retain our environmental safeguards, food standards, and employment protections.”

PA Media contributed to this report.