Boris Johnson plans bonfire of EU laws to try and
appease rebellious Tory backbenchers after Partygate
EXCLUSIVE Ministers are drawing up a list of
regulations to be repealed once the Brexit Freedoms Bill becomes law later this
year
By Hugo Gye
Political
Editor
May 29,
2022 6:49 pm(Updated 6:50 pm)
Dozens of
EU laws are set to be repealed this year as Boris Johnson seeks to win back the
support of Conservative MPs who worry that the Government is drifting in the
wake of “Partygate”.
The Prime
Minister is battling to turn around his flagging poll ratings and persuade
Leave voters that he is making the most out of the opportunities presented by
Brexit.
This week
Mr Johnson will formally announce plans to allow all goods to be sold in
imperial measures instead of metric, in a move derided by critics as
“nostalgia”.
But Cabinet
ministers are drawing up a raft of further-reaching changes to convince the
public that leaving the EU will allow Britain to overhaul its regulatory regime
and out-compete European countries.
Jacob Rees-Mogg,
the minister for Brexit opportunities, is leading the efforts alongside the
Remain-voting innovation minister George Freeman.
The list of
regulations to be repealed will be announced alongside the Brexit Freedoms
Bill, a piece of legislation promised in the Queen’s Speech which will speed up
the process for amending or scrapping laws that originated from the EU.
The bill
will mean that Parliament does not need to pass a new law in order to change
“retained” EU legislation; instead, ministers will be able to table motions
which do not require debate and only go to a full vote if a critical mass of
MPs object to them.
A source
told i: “We realised it would be a political missed opportunity if we did not
make it clear to our MPs and our voters that we are quickly taking advantage of
the freedoms available to us.”
The
initiative will be a chance to show “radical thinking” at a time when the
Tories are being accused of lacking firm values, they added.
The
Government is setting up a website listing more than 1,400 laws which
originated in the EU and incorporated into British statute before Brexit, in a
move designed to demonstrate to the public how much UK law was drafted by
Brussels.
The exact
details of the regulations to be repealed has yet to be decided but the bulk
are likely to be related to the environment, workplaces, transport, tax and
health and safety, according to those involved.
Ministers
have been at loggerheads with senior civil servants over how far to go with the
repeal plans. An insider said: “It is one of those which people on the
political side are rather more enthusiastic about than people on the official
side. You get ministers saying, ‘My officials have said we can’t do this,
but…'”
In the
coming days the Government will formally announce plans to allow traders to use
imperial weights and measures such as pounds and inches for all products.
Northern
Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said: “There are sectors out there – I know
people out there in my constituency, the market traders and vegetable traders
as well as some of the pubs – which will be pleased to be able to go back to
those imperial measurements.”
But Labour
MP Angela Eagle accused ministers of “attempting to weaponise nostalgia for a
time few can remember and even fewer wish to return to”, while Tory backbencher
Alicia Kearns said: “Not one constituent, ever, has asked for this.”
Laws which
could be scrapped
Encouraging
drones
The use of
drones is illegal in almost all cases where the operator cannot see the vehicle
they are flying. Relaxing this legislation could allow companies to use drones
for deliveries and for spraying fields with pesticide, although it would raise
concerns about the risk of crashes.
New animal
feed
Some
farmers would like the right to add vitamins and amino acids to the food they
feed their livestock, which is currently restricted. Tory MPs have called on
the Government to allow insect protein to be fed to pigs and chickens too.
Lighter
regulations for small banks
A new
“graduated regime” of regulation for the finance sector could encourage
start-up banks which would be subject to only a light touch from regulators,
with the obligations increasing as companies grow larger.
Clinical
trials data
Allowing
researchers and companies to share more data about patients is a possible way
of speeding up clinical trials of new drugs which some Brexiteers believe will
boost the UK’s scientific expertise compared to the EU.
New energy
tariffs
The rules
governing how energy companies deal with their customers could be relaxed to
let firms offer a wider range of tariffs intended to better align households’
costs with their heating and electricity needs, while encouraging the drive for
net zero carbon emissions.
Medical AI
Many believe
that artificial intelligence will inevitably become increasingly important in
medical devices. Britain’s legislation could be updated to anticipate the
regulatory problems this could cause.
Ports
bureaucracy
Britain’s
ports currently need to fulfil a number of transparency requirements which
increase their administrative costs and which they argue are not needed in the
UK, as opposed to the EU where large state-owned ports remain the norm.
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