UK scraps deadline for post-Brexit ‘bonfire’ of EU laws
- Instead of the promised scrapping of 4,000 items of Brussels legislation, the government will revoke only around 600 laws by year end
- The U-turn angered Brexiteer Conservatives, who had campaigned on ‘taking back control’ of British sovereignty
The UK government on Wednesday scrapped an end-of-year deadline to ditch remaining European Union-era laws from the statute book – angering Brexiteer Conservatives.
London had promised a post-Brexit “bonfire” of Brussels legislation when it left the bloc, after a 2016 referendum on whether to remain a member.
“Take back control” of British sovereignty was a campaigning slogan for Brexiteers, and right-wing Conservatives viewed the U-turn with dismay.
“Regrettably the prime minister [Rishi Sunak] has shredded his own promise rather than EU laws,” tweeted senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading ally of Sunak’s predecessor, Boris Johnson.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the government had already “revoked or reformed” more than 1,000 EU laws since the UK’s EU departure took full effect in 2020.
But she said in a written statement to parliament that government departments had identified a “growing volume” of retained EU law still in force.