Liz Truss promises post-Brexit bonfire of EU rules that hinder UK growth
Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss has vowed to seize the opportunities posed by Brexit by scrapping EU regulations that hinder the UK’s growth.
The Conservative MP said that if she becomes prime minister, she will scrap any EU rules that hinder investment or fail to support growth in the UK economy by 2023.
If Truss wins the leadership contest, all EU rules will be reviewed on the basis of their contribution to UK growth, Truss said, as she vowed to replace any directives that fall below standard with rules better suited to the UK economy, or repeal them altogether.
In setting out plans to deliver a post-Brexit dividend, Truss also pledged to scrap the Solvency II rules that govern the UK’s insurance sector and vowed to overturn the trading bloc’s MiFID 2 directives that regulate the financial sector.
Critics of the EU’s rules have argued that overhauling Solvency II will free up billions in capital to be invested in UK infrastructure by reducing the sums of money insurers must hold on their balance sheets to protect themselves against bankruptcy.
Those in favour of overturning the EU’s Solvency II rules say reforms would deliver a post-Brexit dividend that could advance the UK’s transition towards a green economy.
The pledge comes after insurers this week warned the government’s current plans to overhaul Solvency II could backfire, in forcing life insurance firms to hold higher sums on their books.
Critics of the EU also say overturning the bloc’s MiFID 2 rules could open the market for small-cap stock research, as they claim the current rules force investors to outsource their research to small number of specialist firms.