The Great Repeal Bill

The illusion of progress.  Doing something at last.  The Times reports on the PM's big announcement:

Announcing the historic change, May said: “We will introduce, in the next Queen’s speech, a Great Repeal Bill that will remove the European Communities Act from the statute book. That was the act that took us into the European Union.

“This marks the first stage in the UK becoming a sovereign and independent country once again. It will return power and authority to the elected institutions of our country. It means that the authority of EU law in Britain will end.”

Under the plans, the 1972 act would be overturned in advance of Britain leaving the EU but the repeal would take legal effect the moment the UK formally pulled out. On that day domestic law decided by British judges would be supreme once more and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg would no longer be able to deliver judgments binding on the UK. All Britain’s laws would remain but the government could pass new laws to overturn EU rules in any areas it wished.

But it does not offer any clues as to the Government's plan - if they have one - for the Brexit negotiations.

Furthermore, while it may sound relatively straightforward, the repeal of the 1972 Act may be rather more complicated than it appears.  Disentangling EU and UK legislation is a far from easy task.  It  will nevertheless be a day or two before the more perspicacious pundits begin asking awkward questions.