A letter in today's Observer by Labour leaders of Northern English councils about the 'unfairness of the government's cuts' is a belated but welcome protest about the shameless bias in favour of Conservative voting areas in local government grant reductions since 2010:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/29/cuts-councils-newcastle-liverpool-sheffield
Of course any North South critique must be qualified by an acknowledgement of large pockets of poverty not only in London but in many parts of the South of England. Nonetheless the three senior Labour councillors are right to point out the catastrophic economic and social consequences of the drastic cuts taking place in local authority services and employment.
A recent IPPR North report highlights the importance of 'northern prosperity' to national economic growth and calls for increased investment and devolution of decision making powers from Whitehall to Northern regions - 'In the coming years, the north of England can expect more cuts in central government spending, according to current plans, whether to social security benefits or departmental budgets. In these circumstances, it needs to demand much greater control over the levers of economic growth. It needs a bigger share of the nation’s investment in infrastructure, and more power to shape its economic destiny'
http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/9949/northern-prosperity-is-national-prosperity-a-strategy-for-revitalising-the-uk-economy?siteid=ipprnorth
