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A new law giving ministers the power to wave through European Union regulations without a parliamentary vote has been announced by Sir Keir Starmer, it has been reported.

Buried within the King's Speech was a commitment to bring UK rules into closer step with Brussels, part of what Sir Keir framed as an ambition to put Britain "at the heart of Europe." The measure will be delivered through a new European Partnership Bill.

The legislation is designed to underpin a series of deals Sir Keir hopes to strike with Brussels, covering food and drink, electricity trading and carbon border taxes, which the Government says could add up to £9bn a year to the economy. The arrangement is reciprocal: Britain adopts EU rules, and in exchange Brussels removes the trade barriers it currently imposes on British exports.

Crucially, ministers have used the bill to include so-called Henry VIII powers, provisions that would allow them to automatically adopt future EU rules within the scope of those agreements without putting them to a parliamentary vote.

Downing Street confirmed the powers would extend beyond existing deals to cover agreements "now and in the future," with No 10 also understood to be considering alignment with EU rules in areas including car manufacturing and chemical production.

Downing Street offered assurances that Parliament would have "its say before EU law is applied in the UK", but pointedly declined to guarantee that MPs would get a direct vote on each individual rule. The mechanism envisaged is secondary legislation - a parliamentary shortcut that routinely bypasses a full Commons vote.

The opposition rounded on the proposals, according to the Telegraph. Alex Burghart MP, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: "The Prime Minister is holed up in Downing Street desperately coming up with terrible ideas. He seems determined to give us the worst of both worlds by making Britain take EU rules with no say over how they're made.

"The Prime Minister should be solving the problems the country faces, not dragging us back into arguments that voters have long since moved on from. The country needs a fresh approach. That is why Kemi and the Conservatives have published an alternative King's Speech with ideas that would save money, grow the economy and give us a better future."

Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, added that the bill would allow Labour ministers to "ram through future give-aways without a vote." The Tories also criticised the Government's plans to align with the EU's carbon border tax, which they said would leave Britain tied into net zero targets with Brussels policing compliance.

While the British Chambers of Commerce welcomed the legislation, saying shoppers would "reap the benefits" through lower prices - not all industries are supportive. Some sectors that have gone to considerable lengths to adapt to life outside the EU warned that fresh alignment could cause new disruption, particularly where UK and European regulations have already diverged.

Agricultural groups sounded the alarm, warning that matching EU standards would mean withdrawing authorisation for 30 pesticides and fungicides that British farmers currently depend on.

The gene-edited crop sector faces a separate threat: the UK has pioneered the development of drought and pest-resistant varieties that are banned under EU legislation, which classifies them as genetically modified. Alignment could effectively shut down those advances. Ministers are seeking a specific exemption to protect the industry, though it remains unclear whether Brussels will agree to the carve-out.

Sir Keir has made pursuing warmer relations with the EU central to his political strategy at a time when he faces mounting pressure from Labour MPs calling on him to resign. In a written introduction to the King's Speech, the Prime Minister said he would be "setting a new direction" and "putting Britain at the heart of Europe."