‘Hard’ Brexit could undermine crucial environmental protections

 
“Whatever position people take on Brexit, it’s a fact that leaving the single market would undermine vital environmental and consumer protections we now take for granted. Many of the laws that keep our bathing water clean and control dangerous air pollution and toxic chemicals come from the EU. Without EU laws and courts to underpin and enforce them, they could be left at the mercy of ministers who may ignore them and scrap them with a stroke of the pen. A majority of the UK public voted to leave the EU – they didn’t vote for a more polluted, less green Britain. At a time of such uncertainty, Theresa May should give a firm guarantee that the world-class environmental laws built up over decades will not be swept away by a hard Brexit.”