By Mikey Pearce | June 9, 2026
In the King’s Speech on the 13th of May of this year, government plans to enact closer trade ties with the European Union were set out. With the primary goal of ‘dynamic alignment’, the bill aims to introduce regulatory alignment between Britain and the EU in certain sectors, including emissions trading, electricity, food and drink, and product standards. This alignment would make it easier for UK law to be quickly updated in line with EU law in these sectors, as well as potentially providing a template for similar legal and regulatory alignment in future agreements.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that the bill provided “common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people” by “closing deals in the national interest”. The government have claimed that these measures could add up to £9 billion to the British economy by 2040, as well as lowering bills.
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch argued the contrary, claiming that the new legislation would “mean higher bills for businesses and families”. She said that the government had engaged in “months of secret negotiations away from Parliament, the media and the public” and had “surrendered many of the gains we secured, on sovereignty, on money and control over our laws, to the European Union.”
Deputy Leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, further criticised the bill, adding that “we are being lined up for a big surrender” to the EU, and that the bill “means we don’t get the opportunity to take advantage of the great benefits of Brexit”.
Furthermore, concern has been raised in the past by the use of ‘Henry VIII powers’ – these are expected to be included in the bill when it is published. These powers are components of parliamentary law that allow ministers to alter legislation without full parliamentary debate, lifting power from Parliament and pushing it towards the executive. These powers are considered by some to be controversial, with the House of Lords once labelling them a “constitutional oddity” in 2010. The human rights organisation Liberty also called the powers “offensive to the UK’s constitution” back in 2017.
However, the bill was welcomed by business figures, including those from the Franco British Chamber who suggested that “for Franco-British businesses, the potential gain is real”, with “less friction at the border” and “more predictable compliance”.
Final details on the European Partnership Bill are yet to be finalised, though its full publication is expected in the months ahead.
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