Thank you for contacting me about the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which deals with the issues you’ve raised.

As you may know, this Bill will allow Ministers to amend or repeal all legislation carried over from our membership of the European Union –consisting of more than 2,400 pieces of legislation – with nearly no parliamentary scrutiny. If the Government does not pass a replacement to any piece of legislation before the end of next year, it would expire or the sunset date would be extended until 2026. 

The government’s independent regulation watchdog, the regulatory policy committee (RPC), has looked at the impact assessment for the plans and described it as “not fit for purpose”.

I am incredibly concerned that this puts at risk hard-fought rights and protections for British workers, consumers and the environment while diminishing democratic scrutiny and accountability in key areas of British law.  As you’ve highlighted, we derive a significant number of our protections in employment law from the European Union.

This is an unbelievably reckless approach to our legislation. The Bill will cause enormous levels of uncertainty as we would have no idea what our laws will consist of in 12 months’ time. I share your concern that the Government is seeking to use this Bill to embark on a process of mass deregulation. The laws at risk are not cumbersome red tape but rights and protections British people rightly expect.

I of course voted against the Bill at its Second Reading in the House of Commons and can assure you that I will continue to oppose it.

We need to establish the future status of laws carried over from our time in the European Union, but I fundamentally disagree with the Government’s approach to doing this, seeking to give itself the power to sweep away key areas of law, of great importance to people across the country, with no scrutiny, no say and no certainty over their replacements.

The Government has paid lip service to protecting workers rights but in the next breath they threaten to bring in legislation to make it illegal for transport or emergency workers to strike; we all know who’s side they are on and why they have pursued the form of Brexit they have.

I and my Labour colleagues, alongside the rest of the labour movement will fight any attempt to weaken our hard-won rights every step of the way.