There are two forms of repeal.

(a) Express repeal. This is where legislation is passed that expressly states an intention that an earlier Act should be repealed. For example, the Interception of Communications Act 1985 was expressly replaced by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Express repeal often happens when there is a drive to consolidate and simplify legislation. For example the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 were all expressly repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010.

(b) Implied repeal. In the absence of express repeal, if a new Act is partially or wholly inconsistent with a previous Act, the previous Act is repealed to the extent of the inconsistency. This is known as the doctrine of implied repeal and again follows from the principle that Parliament should not be able to bind its successors.