Labour backs EU nuclear energy organisation

Shadow secretary pledges to maintain Euratom membership after Brexit

Labour would seek to maintain membership of the nuclear energy organisation Euratom and retain EU environmental regulations following Brexit, the party has pledged.

In a landmark speech yesterday outlining Labour’s approach, Brexit shadow secretary, Keir Starmer said that the party would seek to maintain membership of or ‘equivalent relations’ with Euratom.

Starmer said the nuclear safety and research co-operation agency is one of a number of EU organisations that Labour would seek to maintain close working relations with post- Brexit.

He also pledged that Labour would enshrine in law existing EU regulations to protect the environment.

In his speech, he said a Labour government would not push ahead with the Great Repeal Bill, recently introduced by the Conservatives, which would transfer the body of EU law onto the UK statute book.

Instead, he said Labour would draw up an EU Rights and Protections Bill to explicitly safeguard existing EU regulations in a number of areas, including protection of the environment. 

In addition, Sir Keir said that a Labour government would work with the EU to ensure that the UK’s standards did not “lag behind” those in the trading bloc in the future.

Continued membership of Euratom and alignment with the EU’s regulatory standards fits with a wider commitment by Labour to retain the benefits of the single market and customs union.

The shadow secretary said that a Labour government would seek “strong transitional arrangements” following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. And he said Labour would push for continued tariff-free trade and regulatory alignment between the UK and the EU as well as “no new non-tariff burdens for business”.

Presenting evidence last week at the business select committee, BEIS secretary Greg Clark said that retaining existing arrangements governing the transport of nuclear materials was a “very high priority” for the government.