Without the north we wouldn\’t have the vote: the Peterloo protesters, the Chartists and the suffragettes were all from the north. The trade unions were born in Manchester….The joule unit of energy, Whitworth engineering standards and Peel\’s police force – all northern….And what would music be without the north? The world-famous Hallé, the Beatles, Hollies, Smiths, Buzzcocks, New Order, Stone Roses, Oasis, Happy Mondays, Arctic Monkeys. In 2012 the cockneys will invite us down to have a good old knees-up at the Olympics. Sorry my old china, but you wouldn\’t be in a position to hold the games without Manchester\’s Commonwealth success in 2002, after London messed up a bid for the world athletics championships.
It is a parade of depressing failures, isn\’t it? But the one that really grates is the idea that Manchester is responsible for the disaster of the 2013 Games.
Definitely time to close that fucker down then.
Robert Peel was not really a northerner, unless you count Staffordshire. He created the Met., which is nothing to do with the North anyway. The guy who wrote this tosh would have been better to mention all the great engineers, the anti-Corn Law League, etc, as examples of heroes, but of course so many leftists hate to be reminded that places like Manchester and Liverpool were once hotbets of unrestrained free enterprise.
Is this bad speling week on the blog?
I’d have preferred it if the piece had actually talked about the Great North (as described by Stuart Maconie in “Pies & Prejudice), rather than wittering on about places in the North Midlands like Manchester & Liverpool.
Quite right Silas, you got there before me.
If the lasting legacy of the North is trade unions, well, when do we start building the wall?
Was Sir Robert’s police force modelled on the Glasgow police, or did he ignore its existence?
As someone who has experienced life in the Home Counties, North West and North East England, I think I can see where the great divide lies.
Standard of living- higher, generally, in the South, except for public sector workers on national pay scales. Chances of a good job are generally much higher in the South.
Quality of life- higher, generally, in the North, except for the inner city areas. Pay is lower, but housing costs are much lower. Life is much less pressured, you can even expect to park outside your own house. You can be more content on less money.
I think you’ll find James Joule was an American.
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