Dave wrote:

OK now! This is my stupid question time :-)

How does an EU directive become entrenched in English law?

Nothing stupid about it. Legally, the UK parliament continues to be
sovereign, and the only source of law. Every country which joins the EU,
as we have done, takes on a treaty obligation - "club rules" - to
transpose EU-agreed directives into its own national law.

Directives vary in how much flexibility they leave to member states -
some don't leave much room for variation, others have a fair bit of room
for differing mechanisms to achieve a stated goal, and the more recent
trend is along the lines of stating goals and suggesting mechanisms
rather than trying to "legislate" to the last dotted-i and crossed-t.

In practice in the UK, the "transposition" process is relatively direct
and mechanical, done mainly by civil servants in the lead department for
a given Directive, with relatively little debate in t'Chamber. But there
are notable exceptions to that usual technocratic picture, where some
directive affects a Cherished Aspect Of National Life and an MP or party
thinks it can get some populist headlines by Taking A Stand.

The much more effective time to influence EU policy is not at the far
end of the process where directives are being implemented, but in the
early policy-formulation debates in the Commission and when the
Commission proposals are going through the European Parliament. The UK
government/administration is (these days) fairly clued up about how that
game is played; it's full of horse-trading, shifting allegiances,
fashions, meetings in corridors and restaurants - all the usual business
of politics. Some Westminster MPs (either as backbenchers or as part of
their ministerial responsibilities) get usefuly engaged in that process,
and if you want to exert influence it's worth keeping an eye on the
relevant "consultation" exercises, and/or working through whatever UK
interest group (whether it's the Federation of Small Businesses or
Greenpeace) shares your interests. Because of the horse-trading way that
things are done, though, some of the most effective interventions are
ones you can't then shout about...

uk? well, this is about the uk. d-i-y? well, "getting involved" is d-int
it y-self, right? ;-)