The Brexit Opportunity Minister is pushing for post-Brexit legislation to expire by the “edge of the precipice” deadline of June 23, 2026, marking 10 years since the EU referendum. However, the Guardian learned that at least two ministers opposed the proposal, with officials saying the target was “literally impossible” – especially as Rees-Mogg also leads the public service massacre. In a letter to Rees-Mogg, North Somerset MP George Eustice, the environment secretary, said that “confusing” some rules would mean additional costs for businesses and a waste of time for officials, while senior Whitehall sources expressed fears of a massive rearrangement through the back door. The repulse came amid controversy within the government over how best to promote the “benefits” of British independence. Brussels is set to take legal action against the United Kingdom’s attempt to unilaterally bypass the Northern Ireland Protocol on Wednesday. Rees-Mogg plans to publish a bill on “Brexit freedoms” this summer. In a letter to cabinet colleagues seen by the Guardian, he suggested June 23, 2026, as the date on which a “termination clause” should be activated, with the result that all “retained EU law” would fall from the Statute of the United Kingdom. Alternative dates “important in the Brexit calendar” are also being considered, such as 31 January 2030, which would mark a decade since Britain’s exit from the EU. After a Whitehall review found that 2,194 EU laws still exist in 180 unique policy areas, Rees-Mogg said a “push for change” was needed to push for a regulatory reform process that would remove unnecessary weights”. Ministers were instructed to evaluate the laws affecting their services and said that some of the higher levels would “need to allocate significant resources” – but that no extra money would be provided. Given the ongoing plans to remove 91,000 civil servants, Rees-Mogg said ensuring that the deadline was met “will require careful prioritization of policy goals across the government”. A team will be set up in the Cabinet Office to help sort out those laws that are a “high priority” to comply with, Rees-Mogg added, with a dashboard to monitor their progress and oversee a new stellar chamber. Brexit opportunities, which includes ministers and policy makers. Many laws that ministers may want to keep could be included in a single form of secondary law, known as the Statutory Act (SI), Rees-Mogg assured them, but added: “We can not predict how complicated or just it will be. the SI. ” An appendix to the letter to the cabinet also acknowledged that there was a risk of “increases in disputes” and that while the government would publicly commit itself to not violating any international legal obligations, Rees-Mogg was “considering” whether to make it clearer. the text of the bill. Indicating the number of laws that could be repealed or repealed, Rees-Mogg said the effort would be “deregulatory in ambition, but we intend to allow a fairly broad interpretation of what is regulatory not limited to cost reduction in “Brexit is an opportunity to create our own rule book.” Graphic He added that because the tax was a “particularly complex” area of EU retained law, it would be addressed in a “custom” bill funded by the finance ministry. Cabinet ministers were given less than two weeks to respond, and some missed the deadline – taken as an indication of the level of misery. In his letter, Eustice said such an approach “could mean wasting time on minor issues when I try to focus my staff time on the most influential EU legislatures” – such as regulations on habitats and the Nitrates Directive. Eustice said he feared that “pressure from the edge of a cliff early in the sunset would mean that employees would spend too much time” examining minor laws, adding: “Doing them all at the same time would be a waste of time.” He also said that “confusing” the details of some of the EU’s surviving laws, such as the composition or labeling of products, “costs companies money and is unlikely to make a big difference”. Another cabinet member acknowledged that there was concern in Boris Johnson’s top team over the issue. “It is not a discussion that we seek to make public,” the minister said. Senior Whitehall sources said it would be “literally impossible” for departments to investigate hundreds of retained EU laws and come up with plans to maintain, amend or repeal them without additional resources. They pointed out that a significant number of EU-approved laws were pressured by the UK government when Britain was still a member or passed as a result of commitments by international organizations. A government spokesman suggested that Rees-Mogg’s plan might not be approved due to strong opposition, adding that many hours of parliamentary time would have to be spent approving or amending retained EU law to the detriment of passing other key bills before the next general election. Kathryn Barnard, a professor of EU law at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the UK on a Europe-changing think tank, said: EU, much of which still performs a valuable function. “Replacing the notable EU rules with a domestic variant will require significant time for civil servants and MPs, when the country has other pressing priorities.” A spokesman for Eustice said they would not comment on the leaked letter. The Cabinet of Ministers said the Brexit Opportunity Bill would “facilitate the amendment or repeal of outdated EU legislation that does not suit the UK, ending the ‘special status’ that EU legislation still enjoys in our legal system. framework and saving businesses at least 1 billion in a cumbersome EU bureaucracy “.
