{"id":528315,"date":"2026-04-13T10:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/528315\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:17:07","slug":"keir-starmer-defends-plan-for-closer-alignment-with-eu-rules-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/528315\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer defends plan for closer alignment with EU rules | Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keir Starmer has defended plans for the UK to align more closely with some EU rules<\/a> without parliamentary votes, saying a closer relationship with Europe \u201cis in the UK\u2019s best interest\u201d, particularly given the international turmoil over the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the BBC after the Guardian revealed<\/a> that ministers were planning to use so-called Henry VIII powers<\/a> to dynamically align with EU rules by default, Starmer argued that, nearly 10 years after the Brexit referendum, it was time to \u201clook forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

A new bill on a food and drink trade deal with the EU<\/a> will contain powers enabling the government to dynamically align with Europe where it has already made agreements. But it will also allow the UK to quickly implement evolving single market rules if it determines it is in the national interest, without having to face full parliamentary scrutiny each time.<\/p>\n

Asked if this \u201cintegration with the EU by stealth\u201d, the prime minister denied that MPs would be excluded, saying the changes would happen only \u201cif parliament passes the legislation\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also defended the idea of leaning closer into Europe<\/a>, given the global situation, saying: \u201cWe\u2019re in a world where there\u2019s massive conflict, great uncertainty, and I strongly believe the UK\u2019s best interests are in a stronger, closer relationship with Europe, whether that\u2019s defence and security, of course; energy, I think, inevitably; and also our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The planned legislation was \u201ctrying to make trade easier so there are less burdens for businesses\u201d, Starmer said, adding: \u201cThat, of course, translates into lower prices, particularly with the deal we\u2019ve got with the EU. This is predominantly food and agricultural prices, which I think most people would say \u2013 whatever we could do to get those prices down is a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Conservatives have condemned the plans, with the shadow business secretary, Andrew Griffith, saying Starmer was unable to accept the decision of the 2016 referendum, with parliament \u201creduced to a spectator while Brussels sets the terms\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, called the idea \u201ca backdoor attempt to drag Britain back under European Union<\/a> control\u201d.<\/p>\n

But building on recently more open pro-European comments by the government, Starmer argued that opponents of the plans needed to recognise that the world had changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s also a sense, 10 years on from the Brexit<\/a> referendum, that we\u2019ve got to look forward now, not backwards,\u201d the prime minister said. \u201cLet\u2019s not just have all the old arguments of the last decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go forward and recognise that a stronger, closer relationship with Europe is in the UK\u2019s best interest, particularly in a world that is as volatile as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the proposed bill, ministers are planning to argue that the move will add billions to the UK economy, temper the cost of the Iran conflict and boost sluggish productivity.<\/p>\n

The Guardian understands that if the bill \u2013 expected to be introduced before the summer \u2013 is passed, negotiators could seek to adopt EU rules on everything from cars to farming using secondary legislation.<\/p>\n

Parliament can either approve or reject secondary legislation but cannot amend it, which would probably mean MPs will \u201crubber-stamp\u201d new deals rather than debate and vote on every one. Any blocking votes would be likely to cause issues with the EU, and could spark retaliatory action. A source said: \u201cWe are clear parliament will have a role for new deals and on new EU laws applying under those deals.\u201d<\/p>\n

A government insider said: \u201cWe expect a fight in this area from those who were in favour of leaving the EU on the harshest terms. They will scream treason but the reality is that all international agreements involve shared rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boldest free traders and conservatives have always been pragmatists. But Nigel Farage is too cowardly to take it on; you can\u2019t picture him doing any deal-making with the EU at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer has defended plans for the UK to align more closely with some EU rules without parliamentary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-528315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}