To what extent does the North-South divide in the UK still exist?

To what extent does the NorthSouth divide in the UK still exist?

Jared

The North-South divide is defined as the cultural, economic, and political differences between the North and South of England. For the purpose of this article, the North refers to the North-East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North-West including Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The South refers to the South-East and the South-West including Greater London. It refers to the difference in the standard of living due to the concentration of economic and political power in southern England and specifically, London. The origin of the divide dates back to the industrial revolution between 1750 and 1840. During this time new minerals were discovered, and the technological advance of steam engines and coal power led to the mechanisation of industry and agriculture. The revolution impacted the social, cultural, and economic conditions of the country. The Midlands (north) became the centre of manufacturing with 90% of manufacturing industries situated in cities such as Birmingham. However, it was not just the Midlands that went through this process of industrialisation, but many northern cities, such as Leeds, had similar experiences. The cause of this is the abundance of raw materials such as coal and iron ore that could be found in the North in comparison to the South. Eventually, the North became reliant on the raw materials and manufacturing industries it had and so struggled when tertiary and quaternary industries became more prevalent. The South were able to adapt far more easily. This is because London became the hub for transport routes from the sea as they had a very large port, known as the Docklands, as well as King’s Cross and St Pancras Stations that became transport

links between the capital and northern cities. Given that the UK was already providing the service of transport, the change in jobs demanded was easier to adapt to than in the North where primary industry was much more prevalent. Going even further back, The Economist proposed that origins could be traced back to the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror laid waste to many towns and estates in the North, specifically York, Nottingham and Durham, significantly reducing the wealth and laying the foundations of an economic disadvantage in comparison to the South. He ravaged the land on his route north from the River Aire in Yorkshire. On this journey, the army destroyed crops and settlement whilst sending the rebels into hiding. As well, from the Humber to the Tees, the army burnt villages and slaughtered inhabitants.

One key way of looking at the north-south divide is to look at it in economic terms. These include output, employment, wages, and standard of living. Productivity, i.e., how efficiently they produce goods and services, is one of the primary ways to look at living standards. On this measure, there is still a divide. London is producing goods and services worth £26,000 more per person on average than the North West, North East, and Yorkshire regions as of 2019. The gap has been almost doubled since 2001. This is because the most productive sectors of industry (finance and technology) are concentrated in the South and specifically London. In contrast, the employment level divide is more about big cities against the rest. Jobs are concentrated in the large urban conurbations of London, Leeds and Birmingham. Therefore, from this, we cannot assume a NorthSouth divide and more of a ruralurban divide. As of July 2020, ‘the richest bit…is now 30 times richer than the poorest’ according to The Economist although, GDP per person is distorted by commuters and skewed when the boundaries are drawn. On a more positive note, the living standards gap is closing. As of 2019, household incomes in the South East are 20% higher than the North East, the current poorest region. The economic disparity is probably the largest of all the inequalities between the North and the South and is the standard example given in conversation and although it appears to be shrinking, it is still large and evident on society wherever you look.

On a less important note, and less negative, there is a major cultural difference between the North and South of England. The London media has been seen to be unsympathetic towards John Prescott, an ex-labour representative of the constituency of Hull East because he spoke like ‘ordinary people’. Similarly, northern and southern cities were seen celebrating at the death of Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990, due to her policies that closed coal mines moving the UK economy away from primary industry that was so important to northern towns and cities. The perceived cultural divide between the two regions can be seen in popular culture and TV. One example of this was the 2005 BBC series ‘It’s Grim Up North’ which drew out some of these divisions and other satires, consequently followed. However, the cultural differences are not necessarily a negative and whether they are widening, or narrowing is irrelevant because large and different cultures are seen as a positive in a world that is increasingly being globalised and where cultures are increasingly being diminished by western powers. The issue of the divide comes with unconscious bias in terms of accents and where someone is from. Studies by the Queen Mary University of London show that public attitudes to the Birmingham accent faces the largest bias. These biases can affect life opportunities such as in job interviews thus creating a negative divide between the North and South of England.

Finally, the divide can be seen in politics, both in general elections and the Brexit referendum. It has even been argued that the North-South divide caused the referendum because of the alienation felt by the working class facing the realities of a postindustrialised country. Some felt that young people are held back in education and getting a skilled job due to lack of opportunities. From the map below, the areas in blue (leave) tend to be mainly in the north of England showing their inclination towards leaving the EU. Historically, the north tended to vote for the Labour party because it benefited the working population more. In the general elections of 1964, 1966, 1974, 1997, 2001 and 2005 where Labour had the majority, the red votes came predominantly in the North. However, in the most recent general election in 2019, the Conservative party won a landslide victory because they were able to secure a lot of seats in the north of England. This potentially shows that the gap is closing because they are no longer voting for Labour or it is just a blip due to policies and candidates available during that election. The UK government are clearly aware of a divide as can be seen by the Northern

Powerhouse.

The 2010-2015 coalition government and the 2015-16 Conservative government, led by David Cameron, proposed this initiative to boost economic growth in the North of England, specifically Hull, Manchester,

Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle. It attempts to provide a solution for reducing the divide. There has been a great investment in research and development to create more opportunities and increase the productivity of future generations in the North. The Universities now provide a quarter of the UK’s science, technology, engineering, and maths graduates. According to the Government’s Northern Powerhouse website, between 2015 and 2020, the government have spent over £13 billion on modernising northern transport to improve the everyday commute. The government also aims to provide world-class education, training and care for everyone through colleges and universities. Over 119,000 jobs and £12 billion have been delivered to the regional economy providing help to more than 31,000 businesses and adding over £6.6 billion gross added value to the region.

To conclude, the North-South divide does still exist although, it is shrinking in the ways that matter. The output and productivity gaps are shrinking perhaps showing that the Northern Powerhouse initiative and huge investment has had a positive impact. The recent election of 2019 has also proved a closing of the gap with the voters appearing to pick the party that does not benefit the working class as much as the other candidate. The cultural gap is up for opinion as to whether it is shrinking or growing but regardless, it either brings the population closer together and creates more unity or shows the diversity of cultures and traditions within the country. Either is positive. Therefore, to answer the question of whether the NorthSouth divide exists, it does exist, but the disparities are shrinking, and the inequalities seen between the regions throughout history are not as prominent now.

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