Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill — Disapplication of European Communities Act 1972 — rejected — 16 May 2006 at 20:45

The majority No voters rejected a new clause^[1] to the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. If passed the new clause would have meant any law passed in the UK relating to the European Union (EU) could not be overridden by EU law. However, it was defeated.

Parliament passed the European Communities Act in 1972 which made Britain a member of the European Economic Community (now the EU). Under this Act laws made by European Treaties have legal effect in UK law^[2]. Consequently, the proposed clause aimed to ensure laws made in the UK about the EU could be enacted in spite of the European Communities Act.

The main aims of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill were to allow ministers to amend primary legislation without debate in parliament and reduce the amount of legislation required to implement EU directives^[3]. The Conservatives who introduced this clause thought the Bill would be a good opportunity to reduce the influence of EU law on UK law. A similar clause was also introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Waddington but was also defeated^[4].

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• [1] Bill Cash MP, House of Commons, 16 May 2006
• [2] European Communities Act 1972, Section 2
• [3] A-Z of legislation: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, The Guardian, 19 January 2009
• [4] Disapplication of European Communities Act 1972 amendment, House of Lords, 10 July 2006

Debate in Parliament | Source |