Britain’s North South Divide

If you’ve ever thought the concept of Britain’s north south divide was nonsense, the last week should have had you re-examining your beliefs.

I don’t intend to talk politics on here. But the past week has been about more than just politics, it’s been about my very identity. I’m from the North, and never before have I witnessed such a flagrant National display of ‘fear of The North’ as I have since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.

Britain’s North South Divide

Ever since I left my home in Stockport in 1974 and moved to London to attend North London Polytechnic (now London Met University), I’ve been acutely aware of how some of those in the south, particularly in London and the South East, regard us ‘northerners’; at best as some kind of curio and at worst, an existential threat to civilization.

I was initially greeted with rib-cracking (in their eyes) salutations of ‘Aye up, duck!’ and ‘Ee by gum’ because anywhere north of Watford Gap is one homogenous mass of flat-cap-wearing, pigeon-fancying, barely literate yokels. When they got to know me and to learn about my home and background, they were astonished that I didn’t live in a smoke-blackened, back-to-back with an outside toilet, set on a cobbled street in the midst of hundreds of identical others. After all, ‘it’s grim up north’ isn’t it?

Our ‘grim’ family home in the north

But that was last century and things have moved on since then… haven’t they?

King of The North

In my experience, people from ‘The North’ are well aware of the social and political divide between Britain’s north and south whereas many from the south don’t consider there’s division at all. Then just a week ago, Andy Burnham, popularly known as King of the North for the tremendous work he’s done as Mayor of Manchester, became leader of The Labour Party and by default, Prime Minister.

Suddenly, The BBC abandoned any façade of balanced news coverage on The Today Programme and launched into an all-out campaign to destroy the man’s credibility based largely on the fact he’s a northerner. It seems Westminster is terrified of giving power to The North and the BBC is doing its utmost to prevent that happening.

In one conversation following Andy’s speech outside Number 10, a political commentator acknowledged that the new PM was an excellent communicator to which one of the presenters retorted ‘so he’s a salesman, so what?’. He managed not to slip the word ‘car’ into the statement, but it was inherent. Then there was the disgraceful Facebook video by The Crewkerne Gazette (a social media project that uses AI-generated content to parody political figures anywhere to the left of Reform) depicting the arrival of Manchesterism to Number 10.

It seems we haven’t really moved forward since 1974 except that Britain’s north south divide today has replaced the popular northern stereotype of flat caps and pigeons with Oasis, KFC, and Alan Bennett. Apparently us Northerners are all still thick but now we’re also loud, drunk, aggressive and apparently call everybody ‘lad’, which is news to me.

Back in the 1980s my bestie, Jo, and I talked about a brilliant T-shirt we’d seen that said Born In The North on the front and Die In The North on the back. I’m thinking I might get one. But I would have to move back north to give it credibility. Hmmm…