Conservative MPs have been using a standard text to respond to their constituents about the Retained EU Law Bill. Three UKMA members, including two Committee members, live in different constituencies that are represented by Conservative MPs. When they wrote to their MPs, they received almost identical replies.
Continue reading “Official party line on REUL Bill”Tag: EU
Public opinion opposes aims of REUL Bill
The i newspaper recently published a poll about attitudes to the EU. The poll reveals that rejoining the EU is slightly more popular than staying out of the EU and a lot more prefer a closer relationship to the EU to boost trade with the bloc. Both of these preferences are incompatible with the aims of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. While UKMA has no position on British membership of the EU or on the UK-EU relationship, UKMA opposes the REUL Bill because it threatens a lot of existing weights and measures legislation. REUL aims to scrap or reform all EU-derived laws by the 31 December 2023 deadline, when they expire by default if nothing is done.
Continue reading “Public opinion opposes aims of REUL Bill”No published impact assessments for Retained EU Law Bill
A recent FOI response proves that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has not published any impact assessments on scrapping and reforming EU laws under the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. This Bill will affect approximately 3800 EU laws on the statute book, including the extra 1400 newly identified EU laws by the Government according to recent news reports. This Bill contains a sunset clause that ensures EU laws expire automatically on 31 December 2023 unless a Minister decides to save them.
Continue reading “No published impact assessments for Retained EU Law Bill”1980s – a turning point
Ronnie Cohen remembers how the loss of consensus on both the reform of the UK’s measurement units and on its membership of the European Community changed the course of history.
Continue reading “1980s – a turning point”Isolationist or Imperialist?
On the eve of a showdown Cabinet meeting on Brexit, one of our frequent contributors, Ronnie Cohen, asks if British attitudes both to the EU and to this country’s metric changeover are part of the same mindset.
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Road traffic signs mark a soft border
The Irish Border has appeared frequently in the news as a major obstacle to a withdrawal agreement between the UK and the remaining 27 EU member states. In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at a ‘soft’ characteristic of the current border – the change of measurement units on road traffic signs.
Autumn watched
UKMA has received a message from a viewer of BBC’s ‘Autumn Watch’. This article includes the message and the response.
Straight bananas and the metric system – the EU legacy?
With Brexit still dominating the news, Ronnie Cohen looks at one of the biggest obstacles to completing our transition to the metric system: its perceived link to the European Union.
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Metric Views 