[wsintra2022]

But… you have discrepancies like the town of Middlesbrough , a small North Yorkshire town with crime rates on par with large European cities and rampant poverty and drug abuse with no clear way out because no one seems willing to invest in the once infant Hercules.

[nemomarx]

I hear about the North turning into a kind of rust belt as the population concentrates around London. I'm not sure how you solve that in a finance centered economy with no local industry - small towns are struggling across the developed world for similar reasons.

[nicoburns]

> I'm not sure how you solve that in a finance centered economy with no local industry

You change it to be a not-finance-centered economy.

[teamonkey]

It’s kind of the opposite. The North is underfunded and often ignored by central government, but it’s also cheap.

There have been an influx of Londoners who have discovered that they can actually afford a house in the North and enroll their kids in decent schools and maintain a good standard of living, especially those who are able to move while maintaining a London salary.

[graublau]

Interesting how Westminster has taken the "don't get mad online though" approach given the challenges you highlight.

[alextingle]

Middlesbrough's problems are not the reason people in Dudley, or Stoke on Trent vote for fascists.