Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008

The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008 (2008 c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed more than 250 earlier Acts of Parliament in full, and more than 50 in part.^[1]

The Law Commission’s annual report of 2008–09, recommending the removal of statutes “obsolete or if it otherwise has no further practical use” formed the basis of this legislation. Among the Acts repealed was the Unlawful Drilling Act 1819, one of the Six ActsSix Acts of Parliament introduced in the aftermath of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, intended to quash any further protests in support of parliamentary reform. introduced after the Peterloo MassacreCavalry charge on 16 August 1819 into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 gathered at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England to demand the reform of parliamentary representation that year, intended to quash public protests for parliamentary reform.^[2]