Many of you have recently contacted me about 'Retained EU Law', and have had a lot of questions and concerns. I want to take this opportunity to explain why the government is taking this course of action, and hopefully, show you the benefits it will bring.
When we officially left the EU in January 2020, the Government wanted to ensure that there would be minimal disruptions to both British businesses and people’s livelihoods.
One way they did this was by passing the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This Act repealed the European Communities Act 1972 and converted EU laws into UK laws. But here's the thing, some EU laws remain on the books as a temporary measure to keep things stable.
Now, I know some of these laws may have been a result of compromises with other EU countries that we weren't too thrilled about as they ignored the interest of the British people. That's why the Government has committed to reviewing, replacing or repealing all retained EU laws that aren't right for us. This starts a new series of reforms to the laws we inherited from the EU, meaning our Parliament and courts will once again have their proper constitutional positions.
In the Queen's Speech 2022, the Government announced the Brexit Freedoms Bill which will make it easier to amend the laws we inherited from the EU, allowing us to take full advantage of our new Brexit freedoms more quickly. This is all part of the Government’s plan to do things differently and promote growth, productivity, and prosperity across our country.
In a nutshell, we're either replacing or amending laws that were passed without proper democratic accountability and often went against the wishes of UK representatives. I believe that British laws should reflect the will of the British people – not of those in Brussels – and that is why I support these necessary measures.
Image: "Worn out European Union blue flag" by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.