Think Tank Calls For Move South

[Guest KingCharles1st]

The SLA - c'mon that turned out to be two drunken nutters with spray paint cans. Personally this is a good thing, perhaps after Independence is gained in Scotland the North of England could be invited to join Scotland openly and freely. After all if your masters in London want to wipe out your communities perhaps it's time to get the fk out of England entirely..

O-M-G BRAVEHEART LIVES

[Guest Steve Cook]

I must tell my father that he no longer has a 'raison d'etre'. Having fought in a world war and suffered shrapnel wounds, hospitalisation and having parts of his arm shot off for the sake of this wonderful country, I am sure he will think it was all worthwhile. He and many others are now classed as 'chavs' or 'scouse scumbags' etc. Some of the blerts writing about this need to have a serious think about themselves. This is Britain.......you are welcome to it.

dead fu*king on...It makes me sick aswell

[MrPin]

I was braught up on the outskirts of Hull, and lived in Middlesbrough for two years.

Neither of which could prepare me for the horror that was Thornton Heath!!

Forton Eaf! I knew it well! It is a bit crap actually!

Funny how this "think tank" came up with this gem!

I wouldn't let on that there' life outside the M25..

[Guest KingCharles1st]

dead fu*king on...It makes me sick aswell

DITTO

[Elizabeth]

Funny. I thought just about everyone liked Tory think tanks on this site???? This is Dave's favourite think tank. Dave Cameron that is. You know the guy. The preferred leader for 3 out of 4 posters I had thought. Guys look again, it might have something in it...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...ank-892856.html

[Krackersdave]

O-M-G BRAVEHEART LIVES

LOL - laugh it up but Scotland will be an independent state by 2014, good chance as well that'll even be a modern democractic one, wont that be a welcome change from a constitutional monarchy!

And it's pretty clear an influential "think tank" is effectively advocating the abandonment of the entire North of England (one assumes to turn Northerners into Southerners), is this not ethnic cleansing by economic means? But, who destroyed the industries the North of England rested on... Oh yeah Thatcher.. I remember, she told us at the time that these were dinosaurs and that countries like Germany and France who continued to support them would be third world nations. Dragged down by heavy Industry.

And here we are 30 years later with 200 billion a year blown on the welfare state, driving French and German cars, desperate to sell BNF to a French company because the UK now lacks the technical ability to build reactors and having to turn to another French company to design and build the next aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.

It makes you ******ing weep.

[yorkshireman]

I live oop north as you can guess from my user name. Various reasons why I would not move to the South East, but I will only mention one.

My house - very nice victorian terrace house valued around £200k. Last week I read on this very website about a "perfectly ordinary terraced house" in London valued at £770k. Do I need to go on. I also have very nice views over the Dales. Because of the location of the think tanks heads, they cna only see the inside of a dark tunnel - yes, you guessed it.

[forcryingoutloud]

This really is a new low for 'thinktanks'. Who the hell coined that term anyway, it sounds like newspeak. They'll be saying Bradfordians are becoming unpeople and need to be more goodthinkful next.

I live in Manchester, and the idea that the average Mancunian is out to help his / her Liverpudlian neighbours out of some sort of Northern kinship is hilarious. That's akin to suggesting that the Ayatollah Khomeini was trying to help out Salman Rushdie.

And the language they use is beyond patronising. I can just see a load of people in a pub in Sunderland saying 'you know what the problem here is lads? We've lost our raison d'etre. It's not that there's no jobs or job security, no investment, a huge gulf between rich and poor, massive amounts of debt, ludicrous housing costs, huge alientaion and nihilism amongst young people, high crime rates coupled with a complete lack of trust in the police. No, raison d'etre, that's what we're missing. We should all move down south and become estate agents and stockbrokers'.

[carbonoid]

LOL - laugh it up but Scotland will be an independent state by 2014, good chance as well that'll even be a modern democractic one, wont that be a welcome change from a constitutional monarchy!

And it's pretty clear an influential "think tank" is effectively advocating the abandonment of the entire North of England (one assumes to turn Northerners into Southerners), is this not ethnic cleansing by economic means? But, who destroyed the industries the North of England rested on... Oh yeah Thatcher.. I remember, she told us at the time that these were dinosaurs and that countries like Germany and France who continued to support them would be third world nations. Dragged down by heavy Industry.

And here we are 30 years later with 200 billion a year blown on the welfare state, driving French and German cars, desperate to sell BNF to a French company because the UK now lacks the technical ability to build reactors and having to turn to another French company to design and build the next aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.

It makes you ******ing weep.

Yeah, well done Maggie... achieved what Napolean, Hitler and the IRA could only dream of; the annihilation of "Britain" as a power. Daft cow, best ally the enemies of Britain could have. Shat on her own people. Worse, those shat upon dimwits reelected her!

[jammo]

Funny. I thought just about everyone liked Tory think tanks on this site???? This is Dave's favourite think tank. Dave Cameron that is. You know the guy. The preferred leader for 3 out of 4 posters I had thought. Guys look again, it might have something in it...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...ank-892856.html

I'll be more impressed if a think tank came up with some more practical ideas than saying 3 MILLION people need to flood a given area unnecessarily. How about having schools open an hour earlier to ease traffic congestion. Or making TV standby mode power feed back into the grid. Just 2 I just thought up in my "think tank" in 5 minutes. On the other hand, build an AMAZING city for 3 million to move to complete with housing that anyone may afford within reason that is planned nicely and who knows. Not London though, no existing UK city will do infact.

[BoomBoom]

Here ladies and gentlemen is the kind of rhetoric that you get in a winner takes all society. This twit has no interest in judging a city by any other metric than how much fiat money moves within it.

[R K]

Here ladies and gentlemen is the kind of rhetoric that you get in a winner takes all society. This twit has no interest in judging a city by any other metric than how much fiat money moves within it.

Agreed. He is also employed by a "charity". Which means his non-job is part financed by the taxes of les peuples sans raison d'etre of whom he spake.

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

Great idea. The South is already overflowing with people so lets encourage the entire population to live there.

I'll be leaving this country soon, I think.

That is why all those slaves boxes are needed!

Oh hang on, didn't they build loads in Leeds!

[PopGun]

What this report and all of you miss is the reality of internal migration i.e. where people within the uk are actually choosing to live.

The reality of the situation is that people living in London are choosing to move out to other parts of the uk, leaving the gaps to be filled by international immigration.

You can find info on the National Statistics site. This is just a short one re London:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1812

In 2004, an estimated 218,000 international migrants came to live in London, equivalent to nearly 3 per cent of its population. A further 155,000 migrants came from the rest of the UK.

However over 350,000 people moved out of London, including 260,000 to the rest of the UK. London had a net loss of persons at all ages except 16-24.

These trends have been apparent for some time.

EDIT TO ADD: This spreadsheet shows the extent to which people are leaving London - the only area showing a big outflow of residents. Virtually other area aside from the North West is a net recipient with the South West being the greatest.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Expo...heets/D9674.xls

Good post, thanks. Nothing like facts to get in the way of a good story.

If the snobs think we're such a write off, then give the north independence. Seriously. You want to wash your hands of us, fine.

It would be great for talented graduates to work in their home city. Yet thanks to Thatcher and her modern day cronies, hardly any graduate jobs north of Watford exist.

There is a very bad backwards mindset in the north though. Directors of small companies prefering life experience ahead of qualifications. "I worked from the bottom to get where I am, no wasting five years at Uni/college for me". This needs to be addressed to stem the tide. I'm not knocking people working straight from School, they just need varied levels of skills /expertise/experience and education to really push forward. Hence why many northern companies stagnate, or start to fail alltogether.

Untill this happens nothing will change, (apart from a northern uproar of course).

[Wires 74]

Good post, thanks. Nothing like facts to get in the way of a good story.

There is a very bad backwards mindset in the north though. Directors of small companies prefering life experience ahead of qualifications. "I worked from the bottom to get where I am, no wasting five years at Uni/college for me". This needs to be addressed to stem the tide. I'm not knocking people working straight from School, they just need varied levels of skills /expertise/experience and education to really push forward. Hence why many northern companies stagnate, or start to fail alltogether.

C`mon - precisely what Degrees are you referring to which are preferably to life skills -Media studies , windsurfing , rock music since the 1960`s , etc ,etc ...

Most sensible employers treat Modern degrees with the disdain they deserve - including the London based blue-chip which I have worked for the last 35 years - at one time to make any progress in the company a degree of some sort was considered essential - hasn`t been that way for the last few years though I have to say ...

[davidhpc]

Funny. I thought just about everyone liked Tory think tanks on this site???? This is Dave's favourite think tank. Dave Cameron that is. You know the guy. The preferred leader for 3 out of 4 posters I had thought. Guys look again, it might have something in it...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...ank-892856.html

I think we are going to be reading more and more things like this over the coming months, from Gordenron's State Broadcasting co and the left wing press. It's all kind of 'look what the tories will do if they get in' innit? the tories and especially dave's favourite think tank.

the tories will remove your winter heating allowance that we borrowed to give you, etc. etc. the tories won't give you tax bribes that you paid for yourself anyway.

[renterbob]

Don't forget a lot of people work in or around the centre so meeting friends for a drink is generally a matter of 10 minutes on the tube at most before taking one's normal route home.

pollution

knife crime

high rentals

high tube fares

huge traffic congestion

arrogant southern attitudes

Massive overcrowding

London - great city, great existence.

[nicebuyer]

pollution

It's not so bad.

knife crime

Not a problem is you're over 14 years of age.

high rentals

Wage covers this

high tube fares

Wage covers this

huge traffic congestion

Helps keep down your first point - pollution.

arrogant southern attitudes

If you have it you might as well shout about about it

Massive overcrowding

A bit like the prisons that all them from 'oop North' go to then?

London - great city, great existence.

Nice place indeed!

Edited August 15, 2008 by schuey100

[renterbob]

pollution

It's not so bad.

Tell that to the asthmatic kids

knife crime

Not a problem is you're over 14 years of age.

Tell that to former london-based headteachers RIP

high rentals

Wage covers this

No it doesn't, unless you live in a hovel which most Londoners are forced to.

high tube fares

Wage covers this

Driving is better - why don't peple in London do that - aha see below.

huge traffic congestion

Helps keep down your first point - pollution.

Huge traffic congestion = reduces pollution..er no it doesn't. Another loud mouth with no substance.

arrogant southern attitudes

If you have it you might as well shout about about it

Point in case, see above.

Massive overcrowding

A bit like the prisons that all them from 'oop North' go to then?

We don't live in prisons up north. But London life is similar or worse than prison life so I see your point..

London - great city, great existence.

Nice place indeed!

Only for prisoners and slaves.

The best life is life in the North - Yorkshire and Northumberland...but don't come here...we want it kept beautiful and don't shout about it as we know we have it.

['Bart']

The best life is life in the North - Yorkshire and Northumberland...but don't come here...we want it kept beautiful and don't shout about it as we know we have it.

I'd rather live in Barnsley than London (and that's saying something).

[PopGun]

C`mon - precisely what Degrees are you referring to which are preferably to life skills -Media studies , windsurfing , rock music since the 1960`s , etc ,etc ...

Most sensible employers treat Modern degrees with the disdain they deserve - including the London based blue-chip which I have worked for the last 35 years - at one time to make any progress in the company a degree of some sort was considered essential - hasn`t been that way for the last few years though I have to say ...

Nice attitude, are you infering that the best degrees northerners can aspire to are 'Media Degrees'?!?

My Brother in law, came through state funded education in a northern town, and achieved 2:1 ecomomics/business degree from Oxford (can't remember the specific college). Headhunted by a number of companies at an oxbridge graduate fair. All situated in London. So much for lifestyle choices.

Give the North Indpendence. We will clear the mess that Southerners caused in the first place OUR way. And when London/South East becomes an 'uneconomical' wasteland, we will make sure theres plenty of Mcjobs for you all to fill.

[kevla22]

Haha, the funniest report i have heard this year! Sound like a desperate attempt to shore up the wealth in the south, they know that the South is headed for a real fall now that financial services industry is falling of a cliff.

Me and the missus moved from Berkshire to Lincolnshire / notts border a couple of years ago and everytime we go back to visit friends and family we can't wait to go back home. The south is one of the most un-friendly places to live in the UK, people go out of their way to ignore each other and fights break out in every town come the weekend. Since we moved I have not seen one bit of trouble, even hearing a police siren is a novelty!

Housing here is actually affordable and there is plenty of work with wages not far behind the south (except the London premium), schools are excellent and not overcrowded, getting into London is also a doddle with fast GNER trains to Kings Cross in 90mins from our local train station at a cost of £21 return if booked in advance! People from the south are moving up here in Hordes and i can't blame them!

Getting to work means further to travel but traffic jams are a rarity, i used to work 10 miles from my house and it could take an hour at least, now i generally travel 20-30 miles to work each day and it takes around 45 minutes!

Anyone slating the "North" (above watford gap seems to be the divide?!) has clearly never spent any real time here or actually looked into how good life is, sure there are depressed areas but that is true everywhere in the UK, I have worked all over the UK and I would rate London as the worst place to live, I have a few friends who live in London and they really struggle to make ends meet even on a London wage, overpriced, overcrowded, noisy and polluted.

edited - this excludes the south west by the way! great people in the west country so sorry if you felt insulted by this little rant!

Edited August 15, 2008 by kevla22

[PopGun]

Basically the Poles etc have wised up, caught the last train home, and now the Landanars are scared that there is no one left to build their extension on the cheap. The economic migrants from the South East/London are going to leave quite a big hole, and they need other suckers to fill it. There's only so much flogging a horse can take before it chucks you of its back!

Anyway, I thought the poorest regions in the UK are situated in the south west.