Rishi Sunak’s latest: Brexit red tape burning ‘only contains insignificant EU rules’ 2023

After the Government watered down its post-Brexit “bonfire” of regulations, a senior Tory MP has accused Rishi Sunak of only eliminating “trivial” and “obsolete” EU-era laws.

Sir William Cash, the chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee and a prominent Brexiteer from the Conservative Party, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister criticizing the decision to scale back the plans to repeal the laws.

The Government had pledged to repeal 4,000 regulations by the end of the year, but under the revised plan, only 600 laws will be repealed, prompting a backlash from Brexiteers.

Brexit red tape burning ‘only contains insignificant EU rules

Sir William told Mr. Sunak that “almost without exception” the 600 statutes slated for repeal involve “mundane, obsolete, and/or not legally and/or politically significant matters.”

Therefore, the new government plans “cannot be construed as reducing the regulatory burden on businesses or stimulating economic growth,” he stated.

In his letter, Sir William provides examples of the “trivial” laws that are being repealed, including one pertaining to “the setting of fishing opportunities for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for the 2011-2012 fishing season.”

The government has asserted that its new approach to repealing EU-era laws is “practical and fair.”