The UK has been forced to accept every piece of European Union (EU) legislation it has opposed since the Brexit vote, adding almost half a billion to the bloc’s bloated budget.
Of the 102 votes taken by the EU’s Council of Ministers on proposed laws since June 2016, Britain has abstained or voted against 17, but all have been pushed through in the end, research by Change Britain found.
Campaigners say the trend shows the UK needs a “clean break” from the expansionist bloc, and argue the laws are expensive, not in the UK’s interest, and damage the economy.
According to the pro-Brexit group, the extra laws will add around £473 million to the EU’s budget, with the British taxpayers set to pay around £64 million extra.
Speaking Thursday night, Change Britain chairman and Brexit-backing former-Labour MP Gisela Stuart, told the Daily Mail: “Those who argue we should stay tied to the EU’s Single Market in order to influence policy are deluding themselves.
“The fact is that Brussels already ignores our concerns, and this will only continue if we remain answerable to EU law without being a member of the bloc.
“This is why we must take back full control of our laws and deliver a clean Brexit.”
The UK has already agreed to a two-year so-called “transition deal” with the EU, when the country will remain subject to EU laws and rules but unable to affect or alter them democratically.
Leading Brexit-supporting MPs have resisted the plan – with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying the UK could become a “vassal state” of the EU.
Theresa May’s team has also agreed to cover all “financial commitments” made before the vote, without specifying a precise sum, and despite the UK having no clear legal responsibility to do so.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has also resisted suggestions the UK could get a “tailor-made” trade deal when it leaves the bloc – also strengthening calls for the UK to walk away with a “no deal”, fully in control of its laws.