YP Comment: From Brussels to Westminster '“ Great transfer of power begins

The same cannot be said for Europe after outgoing French president Francois Hollande said talks about the UK’s trading relationship with the EU must wait until after the terms of the forthcoming divorce have been finalised while the European Union’s chief negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, hopes an agreement on residency rights of existing citizens can be agreed promptly.

Just as there’s no turning back for the United Kingdom after the Prime Minister activated Article 50 on Wednesday, the EU will not help its cause if it struggles to comprehend Britain’s democratic decision to leave an unelected empire which had become so all-consuming that Parliament’s sovereignty had been compromised. It’s not just this country which is observing the EU’s actions – sceptics across Europe will also be considering whether enough is enough.

That said, Brexit Secretary David Davis did not inspire the greatest of confidence when he presented the Government’s so-called Great Repeal Bill to Parliament yesterday – the Haltemprice and Howden MP responded glibly to one tricky intervention by saying the issue at hand was “stratospherically above my pay grade”.

This is a legislative and logistical exercise like no other as rules and regulations passed down by Brussels are incorporated into UK law before Ministers decide whether they should be repealed or not. Though the European Court of Justice will no longer have jurisdiction, Mr Davis’s desire to introduce secondary legislation on other matters to circumvent Parliament undermines the sovereignty argument that he, and others, made so forcefully during last June’s referendum.

One way forward would be to task each Whitehall department to come up with a specific plan for laws in their sphere – and for this to be scrutinised in detail by the most relevant select committee.

Given that the majority of Parliamentarians wanted Britain to stay in the EU, sidelining and antagonising them at this critical juncture will only make the Government’s formidable task all the more difficult.

Cutting her cloth: The female face of John Lewis

A DEPARTMENT store which has prided itself on being never knowingly undersold, this principle certainly applies to Paula Nickolds who has become the first female managing director in John Lewis’s illustrious 152-year history.

A shrewd businesswoman who cut her cloth as a graduate trainee in the haberdashery department, it falls to her to offset any consequences of Brexit and she cut an impressive figure at her first Press briefing when she signalled a desire for 50 per cent of all brands to be exclusive to John Lewis – she clearly believes this uniqueness to be a priceless commodity.

Yet, while she’s fortunate to hail from a family steeped in retail, she is a great role model for young women who are looking to fulfil, and then exceed, their own career potential as well as becoming bread-winners in their own right.

As the example of Ms Nickolds shows, there’s far more to retail than stacking shelves or working on the tills. Her roles included sourcing products, before she was promoted into managerial positions. She’s a walking, talking, breathing example of what can be achieved with application and ambition – two traits that will become invaluable to men and women alike as John Lewis, and Britain, prepare for Brexit.

Full steam ahead

THERE will be no finer sight today than Flying Scotsman steaming over the Ribblehead Viaduct to mark the reopening of the Settle-Carlisle railway – it will provide an iconic illustration of both Yorkshire engineering expertise and stunning scenery that is famous the world over.

Yet this historic journey would simply not be possible without the ingenuity of those ‘orange army’ Network Rail experts who spent a year rerouting and rebuilding a section of the route at a particularly inaccessible location after a landslide precipitated by weeks of heavy rain dislodged half a million tonnes of earth, trees and track.

When Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy equates this to almost 100 cruise liners the size of the ill-fated Titanic, it puts into perspective the scale of the operation that was required to ensure the route’s safety. Equally it speaks volumes about this line’s special status that such an undertaking was made without quibble – a legacy of the successful campaign to keep the route open to power both the rural economy and Yorkshire’s tourism industry.