Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of prioritising ideology over the national interest after new research showed the UK is gravitating towards the under Labour.
Reform UK Deputy Leader Tice launched his scathing attack after UK In A Changing Europe published its latest UK-EU Regulatory Divergence Tracker for the third quarter of 2024.
The tracker is a tool designed to monitor and analyse the evolution of regulatory differences between the United Kingdom and the following .
By systematically tracking changes in laws, standards, and policies across various sectors, it highlights areas where the UK has chosen to align with or diverge from EU regulations.
The latest, the first issued since Labour’s electoral victory, shows that the new government has effectively shelved efforts to exploit ‘ opportunities’ through regulatory divergence.
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US President-elect Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: GETTY)
Notably, it has paused five significant divergence initiatives that had been proposed by the previous Conservative government.
Mr Tice, who is also the MP for Boston and Skegness, told Express.co.uk: “Once again Labour are choosing ideology over what’s best for the country.
“This report finds that the new government has all but abandoned the pursuit of ‘ opportunities’ via divergence from EU rules and regulations.”
He continued: “It’s staggering that would still cling on to his europhile tendencies over prioritising our closest allies.
Donald Trump is known to be keen to prise the UK out of the EU’s orbit (Image: GETTY)
“It’s high time Starmer did what’s best for the country and not his europhile backbench. Britain should be having closer than ever ties with the US and leave the failing EU firmly in the past.”
The research comes at a time when speculation is growing that US President-elect may aim to distance the UK from the EU’s regulatory framework.
However, the study points out that Labour is positioning the UK to actively align with future EU rule changes in a move the think tank calls “a step-change in UK policy.”
Central to the realignment is the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which begins its committee stage in the House of Lords this week.
The legislation would empower the government to incorporate a wide range of EU regulations on the environmental impacts of products into UK law.
Such powers could help minimise new trade frictions between Great Britain, the EU, and Northern Ireland, while also preventing Britain from becoming a market for goods – such as toys, textiles, or cars – that fail to meet EU safety standards.
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Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels (Image: Getty)
Significantly, the bill enables such regulations to be adopted via statutory instruments rather than primary legislation, which significantly limits Parliament’s ability to scrutinise substantial regulatory changes.
The frequency with which Labour chooses to utilise such powers remains a key question, especially given the EU’s continued activity in setting stringent product and environmental standards, including new rules on vehicle emissions, product safety, harmful PFAS chemicals, and airline monitoring of non-CO2 emissions.
Any strict adherence to EU rules would likely make a trade deal with the US highly problematic.
Joel Reland, Senior Researcher, and report author said: “Labour’s instincts are clearly much more European than American.
“It wants to avoid new divergence which further complicates trade with the EU or makes Britain a laggard on social, consumer or environmental protections.
The key question is how Labour will use its new tools for alignment: does it have a strategy or unit set up to deliver the policy in practice?”
Richard Tice is Reform UK’s deputy leader and the MP for Boston and Skegness (Image: Getty)
Speaking last week, Douglas Carswell, the former Tory MP for Clacton, Reform leader ’s current seat, urged Sir Keir to prioritise trade links with the US over the EU.
Mr Carswell, who is now President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy in the US, explained: “Given all the dynamism and innovation that’s happening on the planet is happening in the United States, it would be a very smart move if we took this opportunity to realign ourselves away from the EU towards the US.
“It could be that for ideological reasons, he decides to align Britain with a corpse.
“But most countries in the Western world would give an arm and a leg to be in the situation that Britain is in, where you’ve got the America of , which is literally forging ahead to put rockets on Mars.”
A Government spokesperson said: “This Government is pro-trade, pro-growth and pro-business, and takes decisions based on the best interests of the UK.”