The Retained EU Law Bill leaves concerns over workers rights - Yorkshire Post Letters

The Retained EU Law Bill currently passing through parliament matters because unless the bill is repealed, the Government intends to scrap 47 ye ars of laws and over 4,000 pieces of legislation agreed by the UK when we were part of the EU.

These laws are important because their removal threatens the rights and protections of UK citizens and wildlife and could happen in December 2023 unless the Government decides to introduce equivalent laws.

Workers’ rights for example, which currently protect us from an Americanised hire and fire culture leading to increased insecurities and threatening the basic rights of all workers, could go.

Hundreds of vital environmental protections will be threatened by the removal of the EU laws (RSPB). Food safety and hygiene standards are at risk from these Government plans along with Animal welfare of which 80 per cent of current legislation comes from EU law.

Water and air quality laws come from EU directives, they could disappear along with chemical regulations, travel protections, cosmetic and medicine regulations and intellectual property, the list goes on.

If the Retained EU Law Bill is allowed to progress through Parliament it will result in a bonfire of rights, regulation and protections affecting us all.

Why does the Government want to remove these rights – to draw a line under Brexit – mere political ideology, expensive ideology however, because the cost of removing laws which weaken EU environmental policy alone could cost the UK £82 - 94bn over 30 years (£94bn if the impact upon health of poor water, air quality and weaker chemical regulations are included).

Brexit has already cost the UK over £100bn in lost output, do we really need this “economic and environmental wrecking ball” (www.wcl.org.uk) adding to the cost.