Letter: Concern about Trade Bill I SHARE concerns about the upcoming Trade Bill (Craven Herald, letters) and its possible effects on food standards. animal welfare standards and on keeping the NHS as a truly public service. I find it very hard to understand that a government that fought so hard for Brexit on the grounds of restoring Parliamentary Sovereignty, now plans to pass a Bill which will limit the power of our MPs in parliament to scrutinise future trade Bills. I look forward to learning that our MP, Julian Smith, is working hard to ensure transparency in these matters. Ann Parkinson
THE European Union has a common market, a single market, in which low-friction trade takes place across the continent. We get tariff free access to as much camembert, gorgonzola, halloumi and feta as we can eat. This Internal Market Bill, in contrast, is pathetically provincial. It sets its sights no further afield than Welsh cheddar and Cornish blue. Not only is the internal market tiny, it is also tawdry. The European Single Market provides relatively high standards of food safety, consumer protection, workers’ rights, and environmental protection. One of the sticking points in the Brexit negotiations is that the EU – quite rightly – will not allow the UK free access to the Single Market while undercutting these regulatory standards.