Starmer to bring back 76 EU laws

Sir Keir Starmer is set to bring 76 European Union directives back onto the UK statute book as the Government seeks closer alignment to the single market.

The Prime Minister will introduce new legislation in the King’s Speech in May to allow Labour to transfer swathes of European regulation covering the agriculture and food sectors.

The new bill will pave the way for a sector-wide trade deal with the EU, which would see the UK adopt reams of Brussels red tape covering areas such as food hygiene, organic pet food and even marmalade production.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out plans last week to incorporate EU laws in key sectors into British law. Speaking at her Mais economic lecture, the Chancellor said the Government would seek closer alignment in the “national interest”.

Certain industries with “unique characteristics or strategic importance for the UK” would remain under British law, she explained, but that would be the “exception, not the norm”.

The transfer of Brussels powers back onto the UK statute book will be outlined in the King’s Speech, expected the week after the May 7 local elections, where Labour is braced for a drubbing.

The revelations came as one of Sir Keir’s most senior Cabinet ministers suggested Labour could change its stance on rejoining the EU.

Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, said Number 10’s red lines on not returning to the single market or Customs Union were “for the moment we’re in”.

His remarks followed a call by Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, for the party to campaign on rejoining the bloc at the next general election.

Other members of the Cabinet, most notably Wes Streeting and David Lammy, have previously suggested Britain should rejoin the Customs Union.

Officials have identified 76 Brussels regulations that could be copied over to UK law concerning the production of food. Closer alignment with the single market would free up British exporters from some of the EU import checks on British produce.

Cabinet Office mandarins have also been going through other sectors, such as automotive and chemicals, to identify where the UK can adopt EU rules across other industries.

Mr Kyle, one of the most notable Europhiles within the Cabinet, told an LBC phone-in on Tuesday: “I think right now, instead of plunging ourselves into a very long protracted debate about rejoining, we need to be looking at all of the incredible opportunities there are out there for partnerships around the world.

“Because when you look at the high-growth sectors of the world, these are all things that weren’t part of the Brexit debate back then and we need to move fast as a country to seize them.

“When it comes to the EU, we will rebuild – we are rebuilding the relationship – and we are very open-minded about the alignment that will bring benefits to both territories into the future.

“In the first instance, the bill would allow Britain to adopt EU regulations to clear the way for an EU-UK food and agriculture trade deal, which both sides hope to conclude at a summit around the time of the tenth anniversary of the Brexit vote.”

Downing Street plans to avoid aligning with the EU in some areas where Brexit has allowed the UK to innovate and forge ahead of Europe.

They include the development of gene-edited crops, which are resistant to disease and drought, artificial intelligence and financial services.

But the move to mass alignment, with only limited input for MPs, prompted accusations that ministers are undemocratically attempting to reverse Brexit.

Reform UK said in a statement that it will “reverse Reeves’ move to drag us back into the single market” if it wins the next election.

Lord Frost, the UK’s former Brexit negotiator, said: “The new bill will sideline democratic UK lawmakers by making a whole range of EU laws applicable in Britain without us getting any say in them.

“That’s not alignment, it’s subordination.”

The Cabinet Office said: “We have already agreed that the UK will help shape new rules and any disputes will be resolved by an independent arbitration panel – not an EU court.

“We will provide details of the legislation in due course and Parliament will play its full constitutional role in scrutinising, debating and shaping it.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]