The North of England is a "shithole"
ustarion
Posts: 20,322 Forum Member
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7556937.stm
Is basically what this report is saying. How devestating. I disagree with the findings.
Is basically what this report is saying. How devestating. I disagree with the findings.
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Comments
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=872342
Nice to see somebody doing it correctly.
Then to blame northerners for their situation. "Get on yer bike" the Torys will say.
Two birds - one stone.
Tell me what is beyond revival in Liverpool - yes it's still being regenerated but things don't happen overnight. I can't comment so much for Bradford and Sunderland but if the people of those cities are happy there, why should they leave? I have family in Liverpool and they are very settled there, and theoretically they could have moved south because my uncle commutes to there at least once a week due to his job entailments.
Why should it rotate around the big cities either? In Liverpool's case, you've got Southport and West Lancs close to it, as well as the Wirral (who wouldn't want to live in Heswall or West Kirby?) If people want to commute to Liverpool from there they can. Things that are beyond revival are issues like traffic congestion in Warrington town centre (I live a few miles from the town centre so it doesn't affect me really) - and that's because it has a road structure that can't cope with the amount of business in the town. We've also got lots of stunning areas such as Chester, East Cheshire areas that are commutable to Manchester, places like Leeds and Newcastle which are very nice cities. Yes we have places that leave a lot to be desired, like Middlesbrough and Runcorn, but then again the Midlands has Stoke on Trent, the south has Portsmouth which wasn't too attractive when I was last there in 2000 and has hopefully improved since.
I do want to leave where I live now but it's to go to Chester, not to go to the south. I'm happy with what there is in that area, it's close to the beaches and the scenery of Wales and the Wirral, there's plenty of personal activities I can do in the area, such as playing badminton and watching United. And why should there be migration to London, Oxford or Cambridge? It's tough enough at the moment as it is for people without the expense of moving south - I have a friend who has struggled big time to even get interest in a house in St Albans. Yes, a lack of interest in a house in one of the most attractive cities in the UK, because of the climate we're in. Stunning city, close to London (they have commuted to work there) and the Chilterns, lots to do and they've struggled to get anyone!
Good.
Surely they can't be 'beyond revival'- and they certainly don't need people making a mass exodus south. That makes no sense.
'Right, the North isn't doing so well- come on Think Tank, come up with ideas.'
'I know! Lets move them all down South!'
'Teehee, what a jolly idea, you really earned that degree in ThinkTankology from Oxford!'
'And to think I considered doing a degree in one of those useless subjects like Chemistry or Teaching!'
Exactly. It's all about economic regeneration and things such as improving transport structures - why are we still waiting for the Metrolink to be put in in South Manchester, yet whenever I'm in Didsbury (quite a lot as I have family there) I sometimes see a planned railway development that's been there for years. Why not give young people things to do, like building cinemas in town centres that don't have them (e.g. Winsford, a perfectly decent place bar a drab town centre).
I can attest that once you get away from the 'touristy' areas, inner London much closer resembles the idea of a 'shithole' than anywhere round here.
My wife - who lived in London alll through her formative years - also agrees, and would never want to go back to live there.
Even central Newcastle and Sunderland, are nowhere near as bad as certain parts of London.
And as for Manchester and Bradford..... North????
IMO, you aren't 'properly' North until you get beyond Scotch Corner.
Well I wouldn't go to London. The only places I'd really want go for in the south of England are the south coast, the Westcountry and, if it counts, East Anglia. Possibly Kent/Sussex.
Let's lump the north as one big toilet and the south as one big paradise. :rolleyes: So every town in the South is gorgeous and every town in the North is dire. :rolleyes:
In the north you have the lakes, yorkshire dales, peak district etc and then you have grim parts of Greater Manchester and grotty parts of Merseyside.
The UK is splattered with nice and not-so-nice patches. To make it a north and south thing is moronic....and highly inaccurate.
Lets move to Plymouth, now you're talking! :rolleyes:
That book takes pride of place on my shelf in my bedroom.
I think you recommended it to me on here actually.
Oh yes!
And some Northerners will still vote for them at the next election. :rolleyes:
Anyway, my little corner of the world certainly isn't a sh*thole. We have lovely countryside too. There shouldn't be bias about regenerating towns and cities though.
A really classic piece of Northern-knocking from the right. Let's hope it loses Call Me Dave some votes.
I'm a Londoner who chooses to live in Newcastle (I love London and won't have a word said against it) where the quality of life is so much better for me and my kids - we have the glorious coastline 15 minutes away, the rolling hills of Northumberland to camp and picnic in, fantastic shopping, art galleries, museums, an excellent public transport system, the best nightlife in the country, fantastic schools - I could go on....
I would never move back down to London now as I'd find the pace of life more frenetic - but I loved it when I was younger and a bit of a party animal.
Our society just likes to have scapegoats and trivial arguments to bicker over, I reckon.