Draft Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025

On 30 June 2025, MPs voted to approve the Draft Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025, a statutory instrument (a form of secondary legislation made under existing powers) that would allow the government to require "not for EU" labelling on retail goods sold in Great Britain. The motion passed by 315 votes to 4. The regulations address a practical consequence of post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. Under the Windsor Framework, goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must comply with certain EU single market rules. These regulations give ministers the power to require that goods sold in Great Britain carry "not for EU" labelling, which signals that a product is not intended for onward movement into the EU via Northern Ireland. The aim is to prevent retailers and suppliers from withdrawing products from Northern Ireland's shelves to avoid compliance costs, thereby protecting the range and availability of goods for consumers there. The vote passed with overwhelming support from Labour, Labour and Co-operative, and Liberal Democrat MPs, while the Democratic Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice cast all four opposing votes, reflecting unionist concerns about the post-Brexit arrangements underpinning this policy. Reform UK, the Ulster Unionist Party, and the SDLP were all absent. The Conservative Party appears to have been absent in its entirety. The result was not close, suggesting broad parliamentary acceptance of the Windsor Framework-related regulatory framework, even as a small number of unionist voices continued to register opposition to its underlying logic.