6. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for European Transition: The UK Internal Market Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:25 pm on 15 September 2020.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 6:25, 15 September 2020

I thank Mick Antoniw for those remarks, and they carry particular weight given his role as a former Counsel General as well. But I will just say this point: he is right to say that there are parts of this Bill that legislate to effectively put ministerial action above the law. There are express provisions that state that regulations can be made regardless of whether they comply with domestic law or international agreements. Now, that is corrosive, in my opinion, of the British Government's reputation. Successive British Governments have described themselves as having a commitment to the rule of law and that being fundamental to Britain's sense of itself in the world, and I think provisions like that in legislation are corrosive of that reputation. They're corrosive of that reputation internationally, but also they put in place additional barriers within the UK to relationships between the Governments, which are dependent almost entirely on commitments made between one Government and another, and I think, at this particular time, the UK Government ought not to be looking for reasons for that to be the case. I think there are a range of views in this Chamber about this Bill, there are certainly a range of views in this Chamber about the backdrop that EU exit provides to it, but I would hope that we could achieve a much broader coalition of support in this Chamber on the question of rule of law and the risk that this Bill runs to the rule of law.