Thread by @CarolineLucas

The #REULBill proposed by this Tory Govt today is an act of legislative vandalism.

Now we're in a battle to save our economic, environmental & public health standards from obliteration.

Here's why we must kill this Bill🧵

MPs *still* haven't been told which specific laws are actually going to be slashed. The Govt's 'Retained EU Law dashboard' sets out a fraction of the laws in scope of the Bill, and it hasn't been updated in months. #REULBill

Ministers don't actually know what the costs & impacts of implementing the Bill will even be. We are being asked to grant Ministers vast powers, with no indication of the possible impact on businesses, the public & our environment. #REULBill

Unless these 4,000 EU laws are retained, replaced or amended, they will be automatically revoked on 31 December. Yet there are *checks notes* 3 (yes, just 3) full-time civil service staff co-ordinating these law changes at DEFRA, one of the departments most affected #REULBill

These EU laws & regulations are absolutely critical to all our lives - drinking clean water, breathing clean air, thriving nature & wildlife. Why are they being ditched? Because this Govt wants to deregulate our nation & expunge every last link to the EU at any cost #REULBill

To top it all off, dropping or weakening these environmental laws could cost a whopping £83bn over 30 years:

- £50bn in health costs from filthy air
- £21bn of damage to polluted waterways
- £13bn from weakened chemical regs

Is this what Govt meant by “opportunities of Brexit”?

Taking back control? This Bill doesn't bring power back from Brussels to our own Parliament, let alone to people up and down the country. It hands it straight over to this Tory Government - nothing short of a blatant power grab #REULBill

The Govt could focus on tackling the nature crisis, sewage scandal & climate emergency. It could protect our health, food & safety standards. It could avoid wasting billions on a bureaucratic nightmare.

But only if it kills this bill once and for all.

europeanmovement.co.uk/saveourstandar…