David Davis will tell business leaders in Austria that fears the Conservatives will plunge Britain into a “Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction” after leaving the EU are unfounded.
The Brexit secretary will claim that Theresa May’s government wants to oversee a race to the top in global standards, listing workers’ rights, City regulation, animal welfare and the environment as areas for potential improvement.
In the latest speech in the government’s “road to Brexit” series, Davis will say: “We will continue our track record of meeting high standards after we leave the European Union. Now, I know that for one reason or another there are some people who have sought to question that these really are our intentions … these fears about a race to the bottom are based on nothing – not history, not intention nor interest.”
British officials highlighted a recent warning in a European commission presentation to member states relating to workplace safety standards that appeared to suggest UK workers could be at higher risk of cancer after Brexit.
One slide suggested that the UK might cut “levels of occupational safety and health” leading to “higher exposure to chemicals and carcinogens”, and that workers could have their consultation rights cut to reduce delays for collective dismissals.
Davis will use the speech to hit back at that suggestion, outlining UK hopes that “mutual recognition” of regulations will continue after Brexit.
He will add: “They fear that Brexit could lead to an Anglo-Saxon race to the bottom. With Britain plunged into a Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction. These fears about a race to the bottom are based on nothing, not history, not intention, nor interest.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
