Today the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) bill returns to the House of Lords for further consideration. This follows the government’s rejection of key Lords’ amendments in the House of Commons on 24 May 2023.

The Civil Society Alliance is one of many signatories to a letter urging the goverment to accept the revised amendments being tabled today. The amendments proposed by crossbenchers Lord Anderson of Ipswich and Lord Hope of Craighead would offer parliament more of a say over potential changes to important laws. The proposed amendment from Lord Krebs would help demonstrate the government’s commitment to the environment by adding a safeguard for existing protections.

As it stands, the bill would allow future ministers, of this government or the next, to change or remove vital protections for consumers, workers or the environment with extremely limited parliamentary or public scrutiny. It is an unprecedented shift from parliamentary sovereignty to the Executive - which undermines the UK’s democracy, constitution and the role of devolved and central Parliaments.