REVEALED: How Labour are using obscure safety bill to move Britain ever closer to EU
PA
Starmer can leverage this bill to align UK standards more closely with the EU's regulations and mimic European economies.
Keir Starmer's Labour government is desperate to move Britain closer to the EU, leaving the Brexit dream of divergence from Brussels a distant memory.
And Starmer's government hasn't wasted time in installing actions that put Britain firmly back on the path rejoin its European friends.
One of these strategies comes in the form of the Product Safety Bill - which gives Starmer fresh powers to shadow single-market rules.
UK's Product Safety and Metrology Bill aims to enhance consumer protection and improve telecommunications infrastructure in the UK. It includes provisions for stricter safety standards for products, especially those sold online, and introduces more rigorous enforcement mechanisms.
Starmer can leverage this bill to align UK standards more closely with the EU's regulations and mimic European economies.
Despite the German economy being in dire straits and the British economy outperforming both the Germans and the French in terms of GDP growth since the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Starmer is seeking to put things in place which would allow Britain to shadow those economies.
The bill will allow Starmer to sign up to endless EU projects and embrace even fewer Brexit opportunities.
By advocating for robust consumer protection that mirrors EU laws, Starmer can argue for regulatory alignment with the EU, which he claims facilitates smoother trade and reduces barriers.
This approach will appeal to Remainer businesses and consumers who favor close economic ties with Europe post-Brexit.
But closer alignment with EU rules will undermine the UK's sovereignty, a key pillar of the Brexit vote and adopting EU-style regulations could signal a step back towards the very relationship that the British public chose to leave in 2016.
“The dishonesty and betrayal of Labour over this legislation is sadly what we must come to expect,” a spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party said.