The threat to our democracy you didn’t see coming
Today, the government announced it intends to cut so-called ‘red tape’ for businesses by a further £10 billion.
As part of his revisions to the Enterprise Bill, Business Secretary
Sajid Javid revealed plans to extend the reach of the government’s
deregulation target – introducing the controversial one-in, three-out rule, in addition to legislation designed to target the actions of independent regulators themselves.
But according to the World Economic Forum,
businesses in the UK are already subject to the least amount of
regulation of all G7 countries. So why is our government set on slashing
regulation further?
Regulation is often equated with unnecessary and troublesome
‘red-tape’; a costly and damaging burden restricting business, and
preventing us from building a more productive economy.
But regulatory costs to businesses are not necessarily a bad thing.
The purpose of most regulation is to curtail private interests when
they do not coincide with the best interests of the public. These laws
are in place to make sure businesses consider the social and economic
impacts of their actions.
Chances are you haven’t heard of the Enterprise Bill, or the one-in, three-out rule. But the Business Secretary’s planned changes have huge implications for you, me and everyone else in the UK.
