JULIAN STURDY AND THE BUREAUCRATIC SHACKLES

On his website (HERE) Julian Sturdy MP for York Outer, boasts of leading a debate about food labelling on March 14th this year. In the debate (HERE) he talks about "Developing a comprehensive and accurate food labelling regime" for the UK but says "I firmly believe that withdrawal from the EU must not mean going back on the progress that we have made".

He adds that, "the substance of these [EU] regulations must be preserved as the bare minimum when we cease to be an EU member state"

This is all well and good but the year before, on February 25 2016, Julian declared his position on the EU referendum (HERE) by telling us if we leave, "We will be free from the bureaucratic shackles of the EU".

Julian Sturdy

Here's me thinking that he objected to the EU because the bureaucratic shackles were too cumbersome, when in fact his problem with the EU is that they aren't cumbersome enough! The EU rules are in fact the "bare minimum". Julian's plans will mean our own producers, the ones who export to the EU, could have two sets of food labelling regulations to keep up with, read, follow and comply with. Pass the bureaucratic shackles, Mr Sturdy wants them urgently.

The Minister, George Eustice, also made clear being out of the EU meant losing protected food names but suggested "we can have some kind of mutual recognition of existing protected food names". Even before we have started the process of withdrawal we want the benefits of membership. Doesn't it make us all look fools?