Experts warn UK’s regulations now lag behind those of the EU and that Britons will be exposed to more toxic chemicals as a result.
Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 21
10/02/2024
Poor regulation of harmful chemicals, the City losing control of trillions, the music industry on its knees ... more Brexit consequences.
Brexit: a ‘total disaster’ of our own making
07/02/2024
Brexit has caused a crisis for British manufacturers who export into Europe – and things could be about to get even worse...
Exclusive: Britain is falling behind the bloc on almost every area of green regulation, analysis reveals.
Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 19
27/01/2024
This week's Brexit downsides: half a billion in extra costs to import food, the collapse of trade talks with Canada and more.
When the government announced this year it would indefinitely delay plans to force UK companies to adopt a new post-Brexit quality mark, the UKCA, Simon Blackham, of the insulation maker Recticel, was delighted. “Yes! An outbreak of common sense,” he recalls thinking. / His joy was short-lived, however.
Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 9
17/11/2023
Your weekly update from the Brexit ‘downside bunker’, chronicling the downsides, and occasional upsides, of Brexit.
EU restricts use of eight chemicals, with 16 more in pipeline; UK has two under consideration.
The government is to loosen EU-derived laws on chemicals in a move experts say will increase the likelihood of toxic substances entering the environment.
World-renowned economist Adam Posen reveals some tough truths about Britain’s situation.
JUST a few short years ago, Elizabeth Carnahan’s business was doing well. She had a growing customer base, a turnover of more than £1 million and her business was growing.
The health and safety industry has warned the government that it might not be a good idea to throw out every European-related law.
Brexit law bonfire could cost put environment at risk and cost tens of billions of pounds, nature groups warn
19/01/2023
Nature organisations have hit out at legislation that they say could lead to the loss of important environmental protections and cost the UK tens of billions of pounds.
Ministers are facing a clash with opposition and Conservative MPs over their plans to scrap EU-era laws copied over to UK law after Brexit.
Could sunset on EU laws see azodicarbonimide appear in ultra-processed baked products, while other additives disappear but only from ingredients lists?
Why Rees-Mogg’s bill to sunset EU laws is so inflammatory and what you can do about it.
Firms are "banging their heads against the wall" two years after post-Brexit trading began, a new report suggests. / The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said businesses were still grappling with EU trading arrangements and more red tape.
New research reveals 212 ‘safety’ regulations set to lapse – to draw line under Brexit.
Authorities such as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are struggling with a skills gap after the United Kingdom left the European Union, according to a report.
'Brexit to blame' for UK’s sewage problems
22/08/2022
"You have to blame the government for this whole sorry mess. The industry is out of control and it's our rivers and beaches that are picking up the tab for that profiteering."
Publication of UK REACH's priorities for upcoming year prompts concern of growing regulatory gap between EU and UK on hazardous chemical regulation.
Tory MPs urge government to scrap EU pesticide regulations and allow all US chemicals on food
14/06/2022
Conservative MPs have urged the government to use its Brexit freedoms to ditch the EU’s cautious approach to making sure pesticides are safe for human consumption.
American agricultural lobby groups had criticised some of the import bans.
The UK is facing a £1 billion bill to replicate the EU’s chemical database after the government opted to leave the bloc’s REACH system on 31 December.