Sir James Duddridge KCMG, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, and Anna Firth, Member of Parliament for Southend West, have expressed their commitment to taking back control from the European Union and taking full advantage of the benefits of Brexit.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill will abolish the special status of European Union law and support a culture of innovation in the United Kingdom. This means our laws and regulations best fit the needs of this country and British businesses.
The Bill will protect environmental protections and workers' rights, and all remaining retained European Union law will either be repealed or assimilated into United Kingdom domestic law by the end of the year.
Intervening in the Chamber, Sir James stated:
“The Hon. Lady will remember being on the back benches and sitting in SIs [Statutory Instruments] where we had no ability whatsoever to change the legislation going through because it was driven by the European Union.
“This is about taking back control and giving democratic authority to this place, and furthermore, on things like maternity, minimum wage, annual leave, product safety and international regulations, we are already doing better than the European Union’s minimum standards. This government is going to promise to keep those standards and in many cases increase them!”
Responding to Sir James, Nusrat Ghani MP, Minister of State for Industry and Investment Security said:
“My Hon. Friend is absolutely right. There has been a lot of misinformation about the environment, DEFRA [Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs] has committed to maintaining or enhancing standards.
My Hon. Friend is right, we have very little say over decisions taken over in Brussels, but now within this Bill, those decisions are now taken by devolved authorities, which will remain devolved, so actually now you have a say. So why would you want to give that power away?”
Intervening in the Chamber shortly after, Anna Firth MP highlighted:
“I thank the Minister for giving way. She is making an excellent speech, but does she agree with me that it is stagnant European Union laws which are hindering economic growth in the United Kingdom. This Bill will enable us to protect and enhance our important fishing industry, and in particular, our famous cockle industry in Leigh-on-Sea.
Replying, Nusrat Ghani MP, Minister of State for Industry and Investment Security said:
“The cockle industry indeed, you are absolutely right. DEFRA [Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs] has said it will be maintaining and enhancing when it comes to the environment, including our waters.
“But you are absolutely right, this is just an enabling bill, it is a process to enable departments to review European Union law to see what we can do to ensure that the regulation best suits us here in the United Kingdom. That we are nimble to the sectors that we want to promote, and some are sectors that we want to work very fast and hard in are incredibly progressive and modern, and we cannot have law that is made for a much larger group of nations overseeing us here in the United Kingdom.”
