UK Internal Market Bill

Abstract

The Internal Market Bill of the UK government is meant to secure flawless motion of goods and services between all parts of Britain in the wake of Brexit, to prevent competition and trade barriers between the regions, including Northern Ireland. The bill caused the threat of Tory backbenchers rebellion and harsh criticism by 5 former UK PM of both leading parties for breaching the EU Withdrawal Agreement and downgrading the UK image in the world as a global power adhering to international law. The devolved regions consider the bill to be a «power grab» by London of their devolved competences after control over laws is repatriated from Brussels to the UK. They insist on the UK government following the Sewel convention and common legal frameworks as a means to introduce legislation in the UK. The foreign policy implications are also complicated: Brussels threatened to take London to court for infringement matters and the US Congress as well as the Democratic Party nominee for US president J. Biden warned that the Good Friday Agreement should not become a casualty of Brexit thus putting into question the bilateral FTA. Deal or no deal the UK will encounter further domestic and foreign policy problems.

Keywords

• brexit
• boris johnson
• uk parliament
• eu
• internal market bill
• usa
• scotland
• wales
• northern ireland
• devolution