Tories ‘bonfire of EU law’ pledge shelved

Ministers have ditched their promise to complete a post-Brexit “bonfire” of remaining EU-era laws by the end of the year.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said on Wednesday they would now revoke around 600 laws under their planned legislation rather than the 4,000 pledged.

She acknowledged there are “risks of legal uncertainty” by automatically scrapping the laws by the end of the year in a sunset clause in the Retained EU Law Bill.

In a written statement to MPs, Badenoch said ministers will amend the Bill to replace the current sunset with a list of 600 EU laws to be revoked by the end of the year.

“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.

She said a further 500 pieces of retained EU legislation would be revoked by other means.

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.