LONDON: The British government on Thursday published a draft law that would formally put an end to Britain’s membership of the EU, as a top official warned the country was unprepared for Brexit in less than two years’ time.
The new bill will repeal the 1972 law in which Britain became an EU member, and convert an estimated 12,000 existing EU regulations into British law, ending the supremacy of EU law in Britain.
“This bill means that we will be able to exit the European Union with maximum certainty, continuity and control,” Brexit Secretary David Davis said in a statement.
But Prime Minister Theresa May is braced for a battle over the bill, which also gives ministers powers to amend the EU laws as they are transferred without full parliamentary scrutiny.
These so-called “Henry VIII” powers will be limited for two years, but opposition parties have warned they will not allow the government to use the bill to push through policy changes.
May’s Conservative Party lost its majority in the June 8 election, leaving it dependent on the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party to win votes in parliament.
The prime minister, who on Thursday marks one year since taking office after last year’s referendum to leave the EU, remains vulnerable and questions remain over how long she can stay.
As the bill was published, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was in Brussels to offer his own Brexit vision to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
May’s government began the two-year withdrawal process on March 29, setting Britain on an uncharted journey.
Extricating Britain from four decades of membership of the bloc is no small task: The new European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is one of eight Brexit bills the government will introduce.
But Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer warned his party would not support the legislation as it stood.
“We have very serious issues with the government’s approach, and unless the government addresses those issues, we will not be supporting the bill,” he told The Guardian.
As well as concerns about the expansion of executive power, Labour fears an erosion of basic and workers’ rights and plans to submit amendments when the bill is debated in the autumn.
“This will be hell,” added Tim Farron, leader of the pro-European Liberal Democrats.
With the help of the 10 DUP lawmakers, May’s government has a majority of just 13 in the 650-member parliament.
Formal Brexit negotiations with the EU began last month and the two sides have already clashed over the future rights of European citizens living in Britain.
Ahead of the next round of talks starting next week, Britain on Thursday published three new papers setting out its position on nuclear cooperation, the European Court of Justice and privileges afforded to EU employees in Britain.
Barnier had warned Wednesday that the EU was waiting for more information from Britain.
“We need to know on which points we agree and on which points we disagree, so that we can negotiate in earnest,” he said.
“We cannot remain idle as the clock is ticking.”
Britain confirmed it would leave European Atomic Energy Community but said it wanted to continue working closely with Euratom to help ensure a smooth exit.
“The UK and the Euratom community have a strong mutual interest in ensuring close co-operation,” the position paper said.
London and Brussels disagree on whether the European Court of Justice will continue to have jurisdiction in Britain after Brexit.
Labour said Corbyn’s meeting with Barnier marked its growing importance in the Brexit process — although Barnier insisted he would only negotiate with the government.
The Frenchman was also due to meet Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones for private talks.
Meanwhile the head of Britain’s public spending watchdog blasted failures in government leadership over Brexit and raised fears about “vague” exit plans.
Amyas Morse said ministers were not delivering a unified front on challenges of quitting the EU and warned the response could fall apart like a “chocolate orange” — a sweet that breaks into slices — at the first tap.
The National Audit Office chief said if there was failure to prepare for customs, it would be a “horror show” if officials were forced to process imports and exports manually.
A government spokesman said: “The whole government is alive to the task ahead and working together to deliver on the will of the British people.”
UK sets out Brexit bill to end EU membership
UK sets out Brexit bill to end EU membership
Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands
- PM Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone
SYDNEY: Thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia’s southeast on Saturday that have razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland. The blazes have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland amid a heatwave in Victoria state since the middle of the week, authorities said on Saturday, and 10 major fires were still burning statewide. In neighboring New South Wales state, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the fires in Victoria, authorities said. The fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkiye and killed 33 people. “Where we can fires will be being brought under control,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, adding thousands of firefighters were in the field.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster.
It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
