Rosalind Evans
The government has encountered setbacks in the House of Lords regarding its intentions to remove specific EU legislation by year’s end.
The Lords supported an amendment to enable Parliament to have a more in-depth review of the regulations that should be abolished.
In a vote, the House of Lords decided that the devolved administrations should be granted the final word on maintaining EU rights instead of the Westminster ministers.
Once the Lords complete their deliberation on the Retained EU Law Bill, it will be returned to the House of Commons.
Following the UK’s formal exit from the EU in 2020, previous EU laws were sustained in the UK to ensure a smooth transition and reduce upheaval.
The Retained EU Law Bill, introduced to Parliament in September 2022, initially encompassed a sunset clause, indicating that the approximated 4,800 EU-era rules would automatically expire after December 31 unless ministers decided to retain or replace them.
Nonetheless, worries were raised that this needed to provide departments sufficient time to scrutinize all the legislations due to be abolished, and in a significant policy shift last week, the government declared it would abandon the December deadline.
The decision provoked certain Conservative backbenchers, but Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch argued it offered “legal clarity.”
The government has put forward a plan to replace 600 EU laws. Ms. Badenoch stated that this list is not “the limit of the government’s ambition” and anticipated that over 2,000 EU rules would be rescinded by year’s end.
The amendment to remove the sunset clause was accepted by the Lords, many of whom had previously opposed the deadline.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox applauded Minister Lord Callanan: “Throughout the tedious committee stage, he maintained a stern adherence to the party line, then, unexpectedly, he took action… and, utilizing his considerable persuasive abilities with the secretary of state, he ensured the government’s position made a complete turnaround.”
Despite this welcomed change, many peers still have doubts about the bill, particularly regarding the entities responsible for deciding whether laws should be retained or discarded.
Independent peer Lord Hope of Craighead’s amendment suggested that laws intended to be scrapped first be referred to a parliamentary committee.
The committee would possess the authority to initiate debates and votes in the Houses of Commons and Lords if it believed that removing specific rules would constitute a “significant change.”
Former Tory minister and Brexit supporter Lord Hamilton of Epsom, who backed the amendment, stated: “Parliament has to reclaim control of this process.”
Government Minister Lord Callanan countered the amendment, claiming it was superfluous and that all retained laws slated for removal had already been thoroughly examined.
However, the amendment passed with 245 votes in favour and 154 against.
The government was also overruled by 222 votes to 68 on a similar amendment from independent peer Lord Anderson, placing the final decision on maintaining retained EU rights in the hands of Parliament and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
The Lords will continue their deliberation and modification of the bill, after which it will be returned to the House of Commons for MPs to approve or reject the changes.
After the Lords have concluded their discussions and modifications on the Retained EU Law Bill, it will be transferred to the House of Commons. Here, MPs will have the task of either endorsing or overturning the changes made.
Some resisted the move to transfer power to the devolved administrations and Parliament to decide on the fate of retained EU rights. Despite this, the amendment proposed by independent peer Lord Anderson gained a significant majority, with 222 votes for and 68 against.
The debates in the House of Lords have underlined the complexity of the task at hand. While the government has developed a plan to replace 600 EU laws by the end of the year, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has indicated this is only the beginning, with the ultimate goal being repealing over 2,000 EU rules.
However, concerns remain among some peers regarding the speed and scale of this legislative overhaul and the potential for insufficient scrutiny of each law due to be scrapped. This led to the successful passing of Lord Hope of Craighead’s amendment, which allows laws to be referred to a parliamentary committee before being discarded.
Furthermore, the government abandoned the initial plan to have a sunset clause that would automatically expire all EU-era rules by the end of the year, causing some friction among Conservative backbenchers. However, the government defended the move, arguing it provided the necessary “legal clarity.”
The debates around the Retained EU Law Bill continue to unfold, underscoring the ongoing complexities of the UK’s departure from the EU. As the House of Lords continues its scrutiny, thousands of EU-era rules hang in the balance. Ultimately, the bill will be returned to the House of Commons, where MPs will decide on these proposed changes.
