North-south divide slides down the map

Source: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Society/article371097.ece

North of the divide, people earn less, die at least a year earlier on average and get a worse education for their children

Jonathan Leake and Kevin DowlingPublished: 15 August 2010

 

 

The north-south divide, Britain’s traditional social and economic barrier, is getting more stark — and it may be creeping further south.

 

Researchers have drawn the divide as a clear diagonal line bisecting the country from Gloucester, just south of the line, to Grimsby, at its northeastern end.

Analysis of data including average incomes, house prices, life expectancy and levels of education shows that the gap between the two regions has grown wider in the recession.

It had been expected that the banking crisis, with its devastating effect on the financial services industry, which is mostly concentrated in London and the southeast, would narrow regional differences.

Instead the government bailouts of banks — valued by some at £1.3 trillion — have greatly benefited the south as the money has trickled out into the wider economy.