The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2026 10:34 pm As ideas go, it's not the worst idea and does have logic to it.If there's one subject that doesn't end in a shouting match with Reform type voters its the need to rebalance the economy. Apart from economic libertarian Tories. They don't make up a large proportionof the electorate but their wealth and interference drives bogus think tanks and the media behind their populist veneer. Paul Marshall, Christopher Harbone or Farage aren't in politics to pay more tax to fund urban regeneration in Sunderland. Or even Jaywick.
Yug wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:48 am If he seriously wants to be a successful Prime Minister of the British government he's going to have to dial down this North-South divide bollocks. It might play well with the swivel-eyed twats in the Northern England sub on reddit, but they aren't even representative of the North, let alone the whole UK.I have been wondering how the good people of Leeds and Liverpool and Newcastle might react to the 'Manchester is the North' shtick.
Abernathy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:33 am I’m not sure entirely why, but I have an uneasy feeling that this “Number Ten of the North” notion is a load of old bollocks.Of course it is. Standard schtick for the professional northerner. You can move parts of departments, such as education in Darlington or the DVLA in Swansea, but moving government and the bulk of the civil service out of London is both illogical and economically unfeasible. But I bet it plays well with chippy Mancunians.
Boiler wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 9:56 amNo change there, then.Yug wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 9:53 am God only knows how it's playing in Scotland, Wales and Norn Iron.It's got the Cybernats screeching for an independence referendum.
HS2 will be going to Manchester? Great for Manchester. What about the fucking Leeds leg?
Yug wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:48 am If he seriously wants to be a successful Prime Minister of the British government he's going to have to dial down this North-South divide bollocks. It might play well with the swivel-eyed twats in the Northern England sub on reddit, but they aren't even representative of the North, let alone the whole UK.Remembering that a compass has four, rather than two, cardinal points, I believe he is the King of the South East.
The precise geographical centre of the United Kingdom varies depending on whether offshore islands and Northern Ireland are included.
Including Northern Ireland: The exact centroid is located in the middle of Morecambe Bay off the coast of Lancashire, England.
Great Britain (Mainland Only): The geographical center of the main island is located at the Whitendale Hanging Stones in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire (Grid Reference: SD 64188 56541).
Killer Whale wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 9:15 amThat's a Top Trumps game only Shetlanders win.Yug wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:48 am If he seriously wants to be a successful Prime Minister of the British government he's going to have to dial down this North-South divide bollocks. It might play well with the swivel-eyed twats in the Northern England sub on reddit, but they aren't even representative of the North, let alone the whole UK.I have been wondering how the good people of Leeds and Liverpool and Newcastle might react to the 'Manchester is the North' shtick.
Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 9:31 amIf he's attending to his constituency duties every week, Andy can wing it that he's seeing this No 10 north idea through. Assuming its not forgotten after three months.Abernathy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:33 am I’m not sure entirely why, but I have an uneasy feeling that this “Number Ten of the North” notion is a load of old bollocks.Of course it is. Standard schtick for the professional northerner. You can move parts of departments, such as education in Darlington or the DVLA in Swansea, but moving government and the bulk of the civil service out of London is both illogical and economically unfeasible. But I bet it plays well with chippy Mancunians.
Youngian wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 12:41 pmI remember a Viz cartoon where Biffa Bacon moved to the North Pole so that everyone was now a Southerner and he could beat them up...Killer Whale wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 9:15 amThat's a Top Trumps game only Shetlanders win.Yug wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2026 8:48 am If he seriously wants to be a successful Prime Minister of the British government he's going to have to dial down this North-South divide bollocks. It might play well with the swivel-eyed twats in the Northern England sub on reddit, but they aren't even representative of the North, let alone the whole UK.I have been wondering how the good people of Leeds and Liverpool and Newcastle might react to the 'Manchester is the North' shtick.