The Retained EU Law Bill is the first step in dismantling regulations and standards protecting – among other things - our environment, food quality and workers’ rights.

Brexit was not a vote to destroy our environment.

Brexit was not a vote to reduce food standards.

Brexit was not a vote to reduce our rights at work.

The leaders of the Leave campaign have broken every single one of their promises.

This Bill – and a series of other measures set to follow - would give government ministers free rein to demolish vital legal protections, with little democratic oversight.

The Bill, if passed as it is, would – under a so-called ‘sunset clause’ - abolish all EU laws and standards still applicable in the UK at the end of 2023, unless Ministers intervene before to maintain or reform them. That would mean huge uncertainties for businesses, workers and consumers and cause chaos in the courts.

Passing this Bill would, by lowering UK goods and employment standards to well below EU levels, also make trade with the EU more difficult and break the terms of the Brexit agreement, creating the risk of a trade war.

No government has the mandate to put British people’s rights, health, and safety at risk.

No government should act to rip away from British people protections that other Europeans take for granted.

We need to step up to defend our rights, our standards and our environment.

What do we want?

We can’t let our standards drop.

European Movement UK is urging the government to drop the Retained EU Law Bill. We want to see the government:

  • Provide a legally binding guarantee that our standards won’t drop and that any divergence from EU law positively builds on our established regulations and standards;
  • Commit to retaining or improving key legislation on wildlife protection, animal welfare, employment rights, environmental protections, food standards and The government must engage openly and transparently with third-sector organisations that are raising concerns about the implications of divergence in these areas;
  • Remove from all Brexit-related legislation all clauses that allow Ministers to change the law without adequate democratic and parliamentary scrutiny.

Sign the petition, support our campaign today.

31 signatures

What is at risk?

EU regulations are not perfect, but they are not ‘red tape’. They improve the quality of our everyday lives. They protect our individual rights as workers and consumers, our environment and wildlife and the quality of the food we eat.  

EU laws were created with the support of governments of all political parties, when the UK was a member of the EU.

EU laws - that the government now wants to dismantle - protect us in the workplace.

They guarantee our paid holidays. They are helping to reduce the gender pay gap. They protect rights for people on maternity and paternity leave. They limit the number of hours we can be required to work and protect our rights if we face redundancy.

Laws at risk under the government’s proposals protect our environment by helping to tackle climate change, maintain biodiversity and keep air, water and beaches clean.

The EU has also put into law targets to halt the decline of animal populations like the otter, dormice, and dolphin. EU law has established 286 conservation and protected areas across the UK so that our wildlife can thrive. EU law has ended animal testing for cosmetic products.

The safety and quality of the food on our plates, as well as hard-won progress on animal welfare, is also at risk from the government’s plans to scrap all EU laws. Those laws, for example, prevent the sale of chlorinated chicken, ban growth hormone-injected meat, and protect farming and agriculture standards across the board.

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