Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to introduce legislation that would allow ministers to rapidly adopt European Union regulations into British law, marking what critics are calling the most significant reversal of Brexit principles since the country left the bloc.
The Financial Times reports that the bill will feature prominently in the King’s Speech scheduled for May, following local elections in Scotland, Wales, and English councils on 7 May.
The legislation aims to create a streamlined framework for incorporating EU rules, starting with a targeted focus on food and agriculture sectors to facilitate a new EU-UK trade deal in those areas.
The move builds on recent statements from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who in her Mais economics lecture emphasised aligning with EU regulations in the “national interest.”
She described divergence from Brussels’ rules as something that “should be the exception, not the norm,” particularly in sectors without unique UK characteristics or strategic importance.
Officials have identified 76 specific EU directives and regulations for initial alignment, spanning topics from food hygiene and organic pet food standards to rules on marmalade production.
The goal is to reduce trade barriers and red tape, paving the way for smoother agricultural exports and imports ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum on 23 June.
The plan represents a sector-by-sector reconnection with the EU single market, reversing a core Brexit promise of full regulatory independence. Government sources frame it as pragmatic economic policy, with Reeves arguing that closer ties could boost growth amid ongoing challenges.
Last week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued his strongest call yet for the UK to reverse Brexit, urging the Labour Party to fight the next general election on a explicit promise to rejoin the European Union.
In an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica, Khan described rejoining the bloc as “inevitable” and laid out a five-stage roadmap, including re-entering the EU customs union and single market during the current parliament – well before the expected 2029 election.
“I see on a daily basis the damage Brexit has done to not just London, but Londoners, the damage economically, socially and culturally,” Khan said.
He pointed to new analysis from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and Goldman Sachs showing the UK economy would have been around 10% larger without Brexit. For London specifically, he said the capital’s economy is £30 billion smaller, employment is down by 230,000 jobs, and the average family is £3,500 worse off.
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