How do you solve the North/South divide?

[johnfm]

Let's presume that The north ( and Wales) has been in recession for probably 20+ years.

This is a 'guesstimate' predicated on the fact that the SE has been massively booming for about that time, and overall UK output has exactly been stellar.

Assuming this blanket approach is right, what stimuli can transform the North, Wales, etc from net beneficiaries to net contributors?


-10 points for any mention of Thatcher or miners strikes, btw.

Forward thinking responses please.

[johnfm]

How does a region / grop of regions attract investment without having control over local taxes?

Like the Swiss cantons, it would be useful if they could set local corporation/employment taxes.

[johnfm]

NailedOn said:

Get on their bikes?

The Poles did, and still do.

Getting on their bikes implies moving to where work is.

The point is to attract businesses so the regions in question produce more tha they consume in subsidies.

[johnfm]

davepoth said:

You don't. Solving the north/south divide is roughly as possible as eliminating relative poverty; there are always going to be richer and poorer parts of a country, and richer and poorer people. The north of the UK is at the end of a process of de-industrialisation, and if the workforce was mobile it would be seeing a process of de-urbanisation such as that seen in Detroit.

Clearly, there are relatively rich and poor.

Not sure why they should remain to be statistically distributed as they are currently.

Comparing, say, Yorkshire to Michigan is a bit odd. Substantially more diverse industry in Yorkshire, whereas Detroit made cars and not much else.

Given the cost of real estate in the South East, what is the draw for businesses to locate there that offsets the increased cost base? Proximity to London and the ports?

One would think that industries like, say, software etc would be able to be based anywhere. So why the South East?

Seems to me the cost in both time and money of getting from the north to, say, London for meetings doesn't help.

[johnfm]

Holiday to Morpeth?

You punishing the wife for something?