YP Comment: Making Brexit work in North '“ Time to follow Dan Jarvis's lead

The same applies to residency rights – she can’t give the assurances sought by EU nationals working and living here until reciprocal arrangements are agreed for British ex-pats.

And the same is also applicable to some of the more eyewatering promises made by prominent Leave campaigners, like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, during last June’s referendum.

As well as a commitment to provide the NHS with an extra £350m a week, Mr Johnson, the current Foreign Secretary, also said that regions like South Yorkshire would still receive the regeneration funds currently made available to deprived areas by the European Union.

If only it was as simple as writing a cheque for £600m – the amount Yorkshire is receiving in the current six-year funding settlement.

Having initially failed to provide sufficient guarantees to satisfy Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis, who has taken up the cudgels on behalf of the whole county, the Treasury has now confirmed that it will look again at the issue.

It’s important that it does so. These are significant sums that can unlock development opportunities, creating much-needed jobs. Yet, while the Prime Minister’s Article 50 statement suggested some powers repatriated from Brussels would be devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, no reference was made to those English regions.

Of course, Brexit will effectively cut out the so-called ‘middle man’ – the Government will no longer be sending taxpayers’ money to Brussels for its bureaucrats to determine how, and where, it is spent. That said, Ministers do still need to win the confidence and trust of the North when it comes to the future allocation of funds, though this, of course, will be dependent on the future performance of the economy. They are more likely to look at this region favourably if Yorkshire can start to utilise its collective strength. Mr Jarvis has shown what is possible – others, too, now need to follow his lead if this region’s best interests are to be safeguarded.

Sober reflection

TODAY’S Parliamentary report on licensing can be traced back 15 years to the Blair government’s decision to sanction round-the-clock drinking in a bid to recreate the café culture that is one of Europe’s more redeeming features.

Though Britain’s burgeoning night-life economy has been critical to the economic resurgence of towns and cities across Yorkshire, the decision-making powers passed to local authority licensing committees effectively marginalised any misgivings on the part of local residents whose lives have been, or could be, blighted by excessive noise and duress beyond their control.

In this regard, today’s House of Lords report – co-ordinated by former North Yorkshire MP Anne McIntosh – makes a fundamental point which should be heeded. Matters such as pub opening hours, or the licensing of nightclubs and live music venues, should come under the auspices of the local town hall’s planning committee so all factors, including representations made by local residents, can be taken into account.

However, it should not necessarily require Government legislation to bring this change about. It should be within the power of local authorities to revise their decision-making protocols appropriately to ensure the leisure industry’s wishes respect the concerns of residents, and vice-versa. It’s called checks and balances.

Heritage for all

IN so many of Yorkshire’s timeless stately homes, it’s not just the architecture that attracts visitors and historians from around the world in such numbers – it’s also the unique nature of the priceless exhibits on display. This is particularly pertinent at Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire where a six month restoration programme has restored its famous double portrait of ‘Mrs Charles Thellusson with her son Charles’ to its former glory when painted by Thomas Lawrence in 1804.

Work which would not have been possible without the benevolence of English Heritage, it should be remembered that it was John Major’s government a quarter of a century ago which created the then National Lottery with a specific remit to conserve Britain’s history for future generation. This was one political gamble which did pay off and yield dividends unforeseen at the time.