M&S boss criticises post-Brexit food labelling as ‘bureaucratic madness'
Stuart Machin described 'yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for retailers', as he revealed that more than 1,000 M&S products destined for Northern Ireland will need to have a 'Not for EU' sticker affixed from next week.
These labels have been phased in since 2023 when the post-Brexit trading deal was agreed.
The Windsor Framework was negotiated by the UK and EU to address issues which had arisen in the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol which effectively keeps Northern Ireland within the EU for trade.
Next week sees the final phase of the Windsor Framework come into effect, adding yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S.
– 1000+ M&S products destined for Northern Ireland will need to have a 'Not For EU' label stuck on them.
– Another… pic.twitter.com/XDCLwPjX00
— Stuart Machin (@MachinStuart1) June 27, 2025
However, rules were needed to ensure goods for the UK did not enter the EU single market in the Republic of Ireland.
Earlier this month the UK Government indicated it would hope for a smoother flow of trade when its new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal with the EU is finalised.
Mr Machin indicated he was hopeful that the stickers may become unnecessary following the new deal.
He took to social media on Friday to express his frustration.
'Next week sees the final phase of the Windsor Framework come into effect, adding yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S. – 1000+ M&S products destined for Northern Ireland will need to have a 'Not For EU' label stuck on them,' he posted on the social media platform X.
'Another 400 will need to go through additional checks in the 'Red Lane'.
'Quite frankly it's bureaucratic madness, confusing for customers, and completely unnecessary given the UK has some of the highest food standards in the world.
'The Government's SPS deal with the EU will be game-changing, and it can't come soon enough!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
38 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Government's new health strategy ‘no more than hiding the crisps', Tories say
Under new proposals, retailers could be made to set targets to increase their sales of less fattening products. Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said setting mandatory targets for supermarkets was 'nanny state'. 'They had 14 years in opposition to think about what they wanted to do about the NHS, they've had a year in government, and the number one thing in it seems to be hide the crisps,' she told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. Mr Streeting said the Government wants to 'nudge people in the right direction' (Lucy North/PA) 'It's obviously the nanny state, but it's also not what people want for the NHS. 'People want to hear how they're going to get to see their GP. 'Telling people what to buy, I think, is not up to government. I believe in personal responsibility.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the same programme the Government will work with supermarkets to help 'nudge people in the right direction'. 'By taking the approach we're taking with supermarkets, they will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, the reformulation, what products they choose to put on the shelves,' he said. 'They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction without any of us even noticing, in the same way that we've nudged the country in the other direction since the 1990s.' Rejecting suggestions that the idea was too controlling, he said it was different to 'traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price, on marketing, on what's sold'. Labour's 10-year health plan is set to be published next week. Other changes could include money for hospitals being linked to patient ratings. According to the Times, part of the proposals will see patients contacted a few weeks after their hospital treatment for feedback. Based on their responses, money could be diverted to a local 'improvement fund'. Another proposal could see NHS users awarded points for upping their step count and eating healthily. Points can then be traded for vouchers, with discounts at supermarkets and coffee shops, according to The Sun. Hundreds of bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England are likely to be scrapped as part of the changes. Mr Streeting has said the current system is too complex and needs reform.
Western Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Streeting confident about welfare vote amid criticism of ‘two-tier' Pip plans
Wes Streeting said the changes 'have put us in a much better position' and give 'peace of mind' to those currently in receipt of personal independence payments. The Government's original welfare package had restricted eligibility for Pip, but in a climbdown to stave off a backbench rebellion, the changes will now only apply to new applicants. Mr Streeting said this was not unusual for such a transition. 'When things change and evolve as you bring in new systems, it does change sometimes from group to group, student finance being an example,' he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme. He said 'we've got to listen' when asked if further concessions could be made on Pip. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has called for the Government to start from scratch on the Bill and said the latest plans were 'divisive and sinister'. 'Creating a two-tier system where younger disabled people and those who become disabled in the future will be disadvantaged and denied access to work and education, is morally wrong,' she said. Disabled Labour MP Olivia Blake said the proposed changes had been 'plucked from the air'. 'This could form an unethical two-tier system that treats two people with the exact same injury or illness differently,' she told The Guardian. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way' (Paul Currie/PA) The Health Secretary told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the changes 'have put us in a much better position'. 'As a result of the changes, it means anyone watching this morning who's in receipt of personal independence payments now has the peace of mind of knowing that their situation is protected,' he said. Labour MP Louise Haigh meanwhile said she planned to back the Welfare Bill next week but needed to see the full detail of the new plans on Monday. The former Cabinet minister also said it was a moment for the Government to 'reset'. 'I think this is a moment and an opportunity to reset the Government's relationship with the British public and to move forward, to adopt a different approach to our economic policy and our political strategy,' she told the BBC. On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. The original plans restricted eligibility for Pip and cut the health-related element of universal credit Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition. Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only, while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. The concessions on Pip alone protect some 370,000 people currently receiving the allowance who were to lose out after reassessment. Ministers had hoped the reforms would get more people back into work and save up to £5 billion a year, but the concessions left Chancellor Rachel Reeves needing to find money elsewhere and point to possible tax rises in the autumn.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Kremlin says Europe will feel the recoil from its 'illegal' sanctions on Russia
MOSCOW, June 29 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said in remarks published on Sunday that the tougher the sanctions imposed on Russia by Europe, the more painful the recoil would be for Europe's own economies as Russia had grown resistant to such "illegal" sanctions. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a wave of Western sanctions on Russia and it is by far the most sanctioned major economy in the world. The West said that it hoped its sanctions would force President Vladimir Putin to seek peace in Ukraine, and though the economy contracted in 2022, it grew in 2023 and 2024 at faster rates than the European Union. The European Commission on June 10 proposed a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting Moscow's energy revenues, its banks and its military industry, though the United States has so far refused to toughen its own sanctions. Asked about remarks by Western European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron that toughening sanctions would force Russia to negotiate an end to the war, the Kremlin said only logic and arguments could force Russia to negotiate. "The more serious the package of sanctions, which, I repeat, we consider illegal, the more serious will be the recoil from a gun to the shoulder. This is a double-edged sword," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television. Peskov told state television's top Kremlin correspondent, Pavel Zarubin, that he did not doubt the EU would impose further sanctions but that Russia had built up "resistance" to such sanctions. President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any additional EU sanctions on Russia would simply hurt Europe more - and pointed out that Russia's economy grew at 4.3% in 2024 compared to euro zone growth of 0.9%.
