Britain is sticking to EU laws longer than promised
UK Business Minister Chemi Patenoch
© AFP
The UK government has abandoned a deadline to repeal the final EU-era laws, angering Brexit Conservatives. Instead of repealing 4,000 EU laws by the end of the year, the government will repeal only 600, Economy Minister Chemi Patenoc said on Wednesday, citing “legal uncertainties”.
After Great Britain left the European Union in 2016, the Conservative government in London promised to create a “pyramid” from the Brussels laws. Supporters of Brexit campaigned on the Leave vote at the time with an explicit campaign promise to “take back control of British sovereignty”.
“Unfortunately, the Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak) has broken his own promise, not EU laws,” tweeted senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading ally of Sunak’s predecessor Boris Johnson.
The government has already “amended or reformed” more than 1,000 EU laws since the UK’s exit from the EU takes full effect in 2020, Business Secretary Patenock said on Wednesday.
But she will not abolish any law “for herself”. However, Badenoch announced that the “Working Time Directive” adopted by the European Union, which limits weekly working hours to 48 hours, will be revised. Companies should have less bureaucracy when it comes to recording working hours, and non-compete clauses should be restricted in contracts for employees.
Many business groups, unions and the Greens have previously expressed concerns about post-Brexit deregulation amid a cost-of-living crisis in Britain.
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