The big event this week has been the passing of the first stage of the Great Repeal Bill – the bill that’s starts the technical process of exiting the EU and passing into law the vast array of EU laws, regulations and court judgements that means our laws are fully compliant with EU laws on the first day of Brexit. Tellingly, the bit that takes us out of the EU – the repeal of the 1972 European Communities Act – is just one line long. The rest is more complicated and it has stirred up a fair amount of discord regarding how the minutiae is to be delivered.
The Bill seeks to bring EU law into UK law and to do this, there are a huge number of technicalities. Because of this, the bill includes what are known as delegated powers and this element is causing a certain amount of anguish.
Delegated powers give ministers the ability to change the law without passing it through parliament again. There are mechanisms that can control this and judicial reviews are one such method but, in essence, parliament has democratically allowed the government to take decisions on issues within the limited scope of the bill. Without this, it is hard to see how Brexit can be achieved in a manner that allows us to secure the best possible new trading relationship with the EU. But in any event, there will be a final vote on the Brexit deal in its entirety so whilst the mechanisms to challenge each detail are cumbersome (if needed), there is an over-riding mechanism that allows final scrutiny.
For the vast majority of people, these complex technical details are a distraction from the fundamental issue of delivering Brexit. I have argued on these pages many times before that whilst I was opposed to the idea of Brexit, given the outcome of the referendum, we should be embracing the wider opportunity to offers. Trying to argue that we can come out of the EU whilst at the same time have some form of subtle membership via membership of the customs union or single market is to deny the electorate both their wishes and the true opportunity of wider world trade deals.
This process is far from easy. Indeed, it may be one of the most complicated things we have tried to achieve. But us Remainers made these points before. People have heard our arguments and decided to vote accordingly. To frustrate this process is truly to deny us democracy.