tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/english-regions-12372/articlesEnglish regions – The Conversation2020-10-23T13:19:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1485942020-10-23T13:19:36Z2020-10-23T13:19:36ZAndy Burnham’s standoff with London was always about more than just lockdown money<p>England’s local leaders have <a href="https://theconversation.com/englands-metro-mayors-and-the-new-politics-of-coronavirus-148288">clashed bitterly</a> with the Westminster government over the chaos that has surrounded the decision to enforce tighter coronavirus restrictions in some parts of the country.</p>
<p>The most stringent measures – tier 3 – stop short of lockdown, but mandate that people only socialise within their households, and that pubs can only remain open if they are operating as restaurants. </p>
<p>Most of the major northern cities and their surrounding city-regions including Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester are in, or are about to enter, tier-3 status. Some, such as the Liverpool City Region and the Sheffield City Region, have seemingly accepted the imposition with little fuss. Greater Manchester, however, has not gone quietly, instead entering a major standoff with the government.</p>
<p>At its root, the nature of the dispute is simple. Greater Manchester’s metro mayor, Andy Burnham, argues that <a href="https://youtu.be/uZnkrzgFANE">insufficient financial support is being offered</a> to businesses forced to shutter by the government. Burnham suggests that the payment of £60m will meet only 66% of their costs. Instead, greater Manchester tried to negotiate for £90 million, before lowering the request to £65 million as a “bare minimum”. The government argues that the payment is a standard figure, calculated according to population in any area entering tier 3. It says it would be unfair to offer Manchester more than other areas.</p>
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<p>Thus as the situation unfurled, largely through press conferences convened outside Manchester Town Hall, it became clear that the idea of a “negotiation” was superficial at best. With a gap of £5 million, which is small fry in funding terms, it also became increasingly clear that this was not about money – compare for example the £5 billion tabled by the government to bail out Transport for London.</p>
<p>Burnham was evidently fighting for something bigger. He says the government is not “levelling up, but levelling down”, highlighting a key pledge made by Boris Johnson in his election campaign. </p>
<p>As a former cabinet minister, Burnham enjoys a national media profile that most other metro mayors could only dream of. Now he’s being called the <a href="https://www.psa.ac.uk/psa/news/king-north-andy-burnham-vs-boris-johnson">“King in the North”</a>. Whether Burnham himself accepts this position as the de-facto figurehead for northern interests he has argued passionately, and in primetime media, against the rough shake northern England is getting.</p>
<p>Yet, and without wanting to generate any spoilers, anyone familiar with Game of Thrones will know that while all those dubbed <a href="https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/King_in_the_North">King in the North</a> were anointed amid a sense of hope and purpose, they quite often met a sticky end. </p>
<h2>War of words</h2>
<p>Burnham had to learn on Twitter that Greater Manchester would be forced into tier 3 with or without a financial deal. To add insult to injury, this drama played out on live TV as he seemingly learnt about the tweet when a <a href="https://twitter.com/dinosofos/status/1318583325573918725">phone was handed to him</a> in the middle of a press conference. This slap in the face spoke to the disjointed nature of the pandemic response, and effectively proved Burnham’s point that the government was not engaging with the city regions in good faith.</p>
<p>How all this plays out in the longer term is an interesting question. The drama could embolden Burnham and other northern leaders to continue to push and challenge the government on its levelling up agenda. That could prove the whole point of city-regional devolution – it will have been shown to have created leaders who can stand up for their constituents at a national level. </p>
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<p>However, in watching this episode, it’s hard not to recall the last time a northern metropolitan area decided to take on a Conservative government. This was in 1983, when Liverpool’s Militant Labour council decided to challenge central government finance decisions by setting an <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/labour-inquiry-into-militant/">illegal budget deficit</a> – effectively spending more money than it had. </p>
<p>This set the city on a collision course with the government of Margaret Thatcher. Ringleaders including <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47294393">Derek Hatton</a> were permanently disbarred from public office. Then, three years later, via the Local Government Act of 1986, Merseyside along with all other metropolitan areas, was abolished, in an act which can be seen as directly linked to this challenge to government. The underlying message was clear: central government is in charge.</p>
<p>In the short term, it’s unlikely anything will happen until the local government elections in 2021, when the original intake of metro mayors will seek reelection. That’s because for now, two of the metro mayors – most notably in the West Midlands – are Conservative. If these two are reelected, the government may not take political reprisals at all. Even after that, we’re unlikely to see a bloodbath reminiscent of an episode of Game of Thrones – at least for some time. This is because city regions are still the direction of travel for local government, and England’s remaining local authorities are being reformed in this model.</p>
<p>However, local government exists under a state of near-constant reform, and this is where the danger lies for the likes of Burnham. We might expect the government to subject the devolved city-regions to some kind of “reform” in the not too distant future with the events of the past few weeks in mind. Remember: there were three years between the Merseyside stand-off in 1983 and its eventual abolition in 1986.</p>
<p>This may well be a wicking, or outright neutering of powers. In all likelihood, in the same way cities were left to take the financial brunt of the 2008 recession and the resulting programme of austerity, the metro mayors could also be convenient fall guys for the inevitable financial fallout of the COVID-19 epidemic.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Burnham’s argument seems to recognise what’s coming down the tracks, and in time we’ll likely recognise this moment as a major fork in the road for how England’s cities are governed. “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1971833/">The North remembers</a>” has seeped out from TV as a rallying cry. But let’s never forget: central government is more than capable of holding onto a grudge too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148594/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Nurse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>History shows that revenge is a dish often served cold in Westminster.Alex Nurse, Lecturer in Planning, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482882020-10-17T13:25:34Z2020-10-17T13:25:34ZCoronavirus pandemic has pitted England’s mayors against London<p>The anger was evident in Andy Burnham’s voice as he declared that Greater Manchester would stand firm in the face of any UK government attempt to impose a “tier three” restriction on the northern English city-region without adequate financial compensation. The mayor and other local leaders were unanimous in opposing the government’s plans as “<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=flawed+and+unfair+mayors+lockdown&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB874GB874&oq=flawed+and+unfair+mayors+lockdown&aqs=chrome..69i57.3284j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">flawed and unfair</a>”. A statement from Burnham, the two deputy mayors and Greater Manchester’s ten council leaders declared: “We are fighting back – for fairness and for the health of our people in the broadest sense.”</p>
<p>As cities in the North of England have struggled with coronavirus infection rates, local leaders across the political spectrum have been flexing their muscles. </p>
<p>Covid-19 has fully exposed the inadequacies of the relationship between central and other tiers of government at the regional and local level in England. It has also made it difficult to deny entrenched structural inequalities. We might all be in the same storm, but we are definitely not all in the same boat.</p>
<p>These two truths are closely intertwined: there is a relationship between the highly centralised political system in England and inequality. As Burnham and his counterpart in the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, have long argued: political decisions taken by a small Westminster elite reflect the reality contained within the circle of the M25 London orbital motorway. They do not reflect the reality of life outside of this circle. And that perpetuates inequalities.</p>
<p>Large city-regions in the North, for example, faced the largest spending cuts after the 2008 financial crash with one estimate claiming that “on a per capita basis, <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/reader/cities-outlook-2019/a-decade-of-austerity/">Liverpool has seen the largest cut</a>”. Transport spending on London and the South-East far outstrips transport spending in the North and, during the pandemic, there has been evidence of “a gaping <a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/mayor-of-greater-manchester-calls-for-cobra-to-be-reconvened-with-seats-for-the-english-regions/">North-South divide</a> on access to testing”.</p>
<p>The political leadership being demonstrated by combined authority mayors across the North is all the more striking in its contrast to the absence of clear and coherent leadership from the centre. While Rotheram and local authority leaders in Liverpool accepted the imposition of tier-three COVID restrictions, they were quick to emphasise in a <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/liverpool-city-region-confirmed-to-be-placed-on-highest-tier-3-covid-alert-level/">joint statement</a> that “it was made clear to us that government would be doing this regardless of if we engaged with then or not” and stressed that “we have not yet reached an agreement on the wider economic support package that we require”.</p>
<p>The focus on the inadequacies of the economic support on offer had already been signalled in an <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/11710-2/">open letter</a> to government signed by Burnham, Rotheram, Dan Jarvis the metro-mayor of the Sheffield city-region, Jamie Driscoll, the metro-mayor of the North of Tyne and Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council and deputy mayor of Greater Manchester.</p>
<h2>The long road to devolution</h2>
<p>Leaders across the North have signed various devolution deals since 2014. But the pandemic has reinforced a growing feeling that the original terms of the deals are inadequate and that the devolution journey needs to be accelerated. The horse-trading that has accompanied the latest government negotiations with Lancashire and the Liverpool City Region, resulting in different restrictions and funding in each area despite both being in tier three, should come as no surprise. It reflects the transactional nature of the original deals negotiated individually between government and each area.</p>
<p>Local leaders have clamoured to take decisions locally. As care homes struggled in April, Burnham called on the national government to use the expertise of local authorities and their <a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/mayor-calls-for-urgent-support-package-for-social-care/" title=") to get PPE to where it was most needed. In May, a joint letter from Rotheram and Burnham expressed dismay over the ["lack of meaningful consultation and advance knowledge](https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/change-of-message-too-early-for-north-west-say-andy-burnham-and-steve-rotheram-in-letter-to-pm/ "">“well established logistics systems</a>” about the easing of restrictions when infection rates remained high in their areas.</p>
<p>This was followed in June by their joint concern about the lack of clear data to support decisions around local lockdowns. By September, Burnham was calling on the government <a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/mayor-of-greater-manchester-calls-for-cobra-to-be-reconvened-with-seats-for-the-english-regions/">to reconvene Cobra</a> with representation for all of the English regions alongside London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.</p>
<p>The need to take decisions locally has never been more obvious. From sourcing PPE to housing rough sleepers to using local expertise in track and trace systems. The inadequacies of PPE supplies saw Greater Manchester set up its own <a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/gmca-approves-14m-loan-to-private-white-to-manufacture-vital-ppe/">PPE taskforce</a> to provide a central system of procurement and distribution for frontline workers.</p>
<p>It has all served to teach many people who didn’t already know it that local authorities matter. Metro-mayors are proving their worth by using their collective voice to draw attention to the plight of their city-regions and they have been crucial in acting as convenors and coordinators of their local authorities. Yet it is local authorities that have the power to make a difference to track, trace and test systems. It is local authorities that control public health and social care. It is local authorities that run the public services which make a difference to people’s lives.</p>
<p>It is therefore alarming to note the extent to which local authorities have been weakened financially, first by austerity and now by the pandemic. The government has promised English local authorities an additional £1bn of financial support on top of the £3.6bn Towns Fund already committed. But this looks set to fall short of what is needed to cover the <a href="https://www.lgcplus.com/finance/further-1bn-for-councils-announced-by-johnson-13-10-2020/">economic fallout from coronavirus</a>.</p>
<p>Burnham’s declaration of defiance was a long time in the making. For years there has been a growing appetite for local control and an end to the inadequacies of an over-centralised political system and the related structural inequalities. This all existed long before Covid but the pandemic has certainly highlighted and accelerated existing trends.</p>
<p>It is not that Northern leaders have suddenly found a voice. Since their election in May 2017, metro-mayors have combined to lobby central government for further devolution. Current calls for a seat at the Cobra table are a reminder of their earlier pleas to have representation in the Brexit negotiations. Their political voice is therefore not new. But that voice is finally starting to be heard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgina Blakeley receives funding from British Academy and Santander Mobility Fund.</span></em></p>Tensions between regional leaders and central government have reenergised a devolution debate.Georgina Blakeley, Director of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1130662019-03-22T08:21:50Z2019-03-22T08:21:50ZPremier League: how English football’s top flight favours fans of London clubs<p>The English Premier League (EPL) is the most <a href="https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/seasoncountry/#/yr/2019">successful football league</a> in the world and one of the most <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43488263">successful sports businesses</a> of any kind. But the benefits may be relatively skewed towards people who live in London. Not only has the UK capital had more clubs per fan in the EPL than any other region since the league was created in the 1992/93 season, but their fans have to pay less to travel to see their clubs play away matches.</p>
<p>Over the 26 years the league has been in operation, the number of EPL clubs based in London has remained relatively stable at approximately six. Meanwhile, the number of clubs from different regions has fluctuated. The largest reduction was observed in the north of England where the number of EPL clubs fell from ten out of 20 in 1995/96 (when the EPL was reduced from 22 to 20) to seven out of 20 in 2018/19. There was large variation in participation from teams in the Midlands or the east of England and a small increase in the number of clubs from the south and Wales, with the participation of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, AFC Bournemouth and Cardiff City in 2018/19.</p>
<p>If you dig deeper, you can see that the northwest and, especially, Yorkshire & Humber are the biggest losers over time (Figure 2) – although Leeds United and Sheffield United are currently sitting pretty on the Championship (the second tier of English football) table and may well join the EPL in 2019/20. This implies that there may be stronger regional representation, with Huddersfield (Yorkshire) and Fulham (London) looking destined for relegation to the Championship.</p>
<p>If you adjust this calculation for population size (assuming one club per approximately 2.5m people – distributing fairly 20 clubs across around 51m people), the north of England and London were – and still are – the only two regions punching above their weight. But you can also see a change over time as London has surpassed the north in terms of “over-representation” of clubs from the region. The north’s losses have benefited the south and Wales. Once again, drilling down into lower level regions, it becomes clear that the north-west is the only region comparable to London (Figure 3). </p>
<p>For example, in the 2018/19 EPL season, there were six clubs from London (“observed”) and based on a population around 8,200,000 people from the 2011 Census we would expect around three clubs (“expected”). Meanwhile the north-west of England has a population of around 7.5m so, again, you would expect around three clubs – but there are five in the EPL.</p>
<h2>Strain of the train</h2>
<p>We decided to work out how much things were skewed in favour of London-based clubs and their fans. We calculated how much it costs for fans to follow their clubs on all away EPL fixtures, picking an arbitrary date: Saturday November 3, 2018. We used the most common kick-off time of 3pm and obtained rail and car travel estimates from Google maps and the national rail enquiries website. Unsurprisingly, following Newcastle United, in the northeast, was the most expensive choice – each committed Geordie had to spend around £2,500 on rail fares to attend all of the club’s away matches.</p>
<p>Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, Cardiff City in Wales and Huddersfield Town in Yorkshire were next in line – their fans had to spend more than £1,700. At the other end of the scale, fans of London clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal faced an average cost of around £1,000. Fans of Liverpool and Manchester clubs had to spend around £1,400 and £1,200, respectively.</p>
<p>In total, rail fares for Newcastle United fans to attend all 19 away matches were in excess of £6.5m (accounting for away fan capacity and assuming sellout crowds). This is a clear outlier, reflecting Newcastle’s remoteness in relation to other clubs – although rail travel time for Novocastrians was better than expected. This at least reflects good services and connections – better than for Bournemouth, Cardiff and Burnley, for example, considering the distances.</p>
<p>Rail costs per mile further demonstrate a variation – Leicester fans, in particular, have the right to feel particularly aggrieved, with cost per mile travelled to or from London being 0.58p and to or from everywhere else 0.52p (averages for all other cities/towns, excluding London, were 0.43p and 0.47p, respectively).</p>
<p>Interesting point: for Bournemouth and Southampton fans, a return train ticket to London is slightly more expensive than for London-based fans travelling in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>In reality, all these costs are underestimates, since televised matches are played at times that make the lives of travelling fans very difficult – it may be impossible to get a direct train and an overnight stay may be essential, further adding to the costs. And these additional costs are likely to be higher for non-London supporters, since services outside London tend to be less frequent, while overnight stays in London are more expensive. </p>
<h2>Level playing field</h2>
<p>It becomes evident that football fans have to bear a disproportional cost in time and money, supporting an industry that makes massive profits. So, what can be done? Travelling fans are effectively sports “visitors” and should be treated with reciprocal respect, with more consideration given to televised matches and the distances fans have to travel. </p>
<p>The EPL could also acknowledge the travelling costs for away fans and offer financial support to clubs in a similar way to how broadcast and central income is distributed. This would allow each club to consider a ticket pricing strategy for its own fans or support travelling arrangements. Perhaps clubs could consider selling a bundle product which would include both match and rail ticket. Alternatively (or in addition), the government or football institutions could negotiate fairer “fixed” rail prices.</p>
<p>But it’s not all down to geography, as infrastructure also plays its part. London is at the centre of the biggest sports investments which have made the capital the natural host for national football events. It seems unfair that <a href="https://www.efl.com/carabao-cup">EFL (or Carabao) Cup</a> finals and FA Cup semi-finals and finals are hosted in London.</p>
<p>Wembley, the “headquarters” of English football, has historically been an integral part of the game in England and is recognised as a global football trademark. But always having cup finals there increases the time and expense for supporters of non-London clubs that are successful in these competitions. Perhaps the region of the finalists should be considered before a venue was decided. </p>
<p>This imbalance is a problem for the EPL as it may have implications for its attractiveness and for generating revenue overall. And, as the so-called “people’s sport”, it’s surely a problem that this emphasis in favour of London and London-based clubs makes life harder for fans with less money to travel to see their clubs play. </p>
<p>Football is one of the most loved sports in the UK and the world, bringing together families and friends over a number of generations. It’s a societal link of togetherness. It shouldn’t give an unfair advantage to London or lead loyal supporters to poverty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tasos is a supporter of Olympiakos S.F.P. He is confident that one day Olympiakos will reach and conquer the Champions League....one day....
Tasos also has a soft spot for AFC Bournemouth. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evangelos Kontopantelis is a Manchester City season ticket holder and is often camouflaged as an empty seat.</span></em></p>Football is supposed to be the ‘people’s game’, but the English Premier League is easier and cheaper to follow if you are a fan of a club based in London or the prosperous southeast.Anastasios (Tasos) Theofilou, Principal Academic, Bournemouth UniversityEvangelos Kontopantelis, Professor in Data Science and Health Services Research, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1020632018-09-25T15:37:50Z2018-09-25T15:37:50ZNorthern dialects can be closer to original English – despite what southerners might say<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237801/original/file-20180924-85752-j89g9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 'north'.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/england-on-atlas-world-map-225476584?src=nf8g3GreQewBfE8qAGdP-w-2-6">Janaka Dharmasena/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Ey oop! Ey oop!”, says comedian Michael McIntyre <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzAD2GLfaNU&t=3s">to his audience in Leeds</a>. “That’s supposed to be ‘hello’, according to you.” He sticks with his Yorkshire theme for a couple of minutes, mocking <em>nowt</em>, <em>summat</em> and <em>the</em> – as in “T’Lion, t’Witch and t’Wardrobe” – at the show filmed in 2010. His audience laps up the ridicule, even though it comes from a posh-sounding southerner.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD3vqP8KG5w&list=PLFEvX58K7_gkuzE9_YYzVBLPBJHDF6DeQ&index=5&t=0s">another gig</a>, McIntyre has similar fun with the Tyneside dialect: “So I met a Geordie quite recently. It was just me and him in the room, and he said to me, ‘are yous lookin’ at us?’ How many mistakes can you make in one sentence?”. Lots of laughter for that too. </p>
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<p>“Now the whole language of the north, especially at York, is so uncouth and strident that we southerners can understand none of it. This is because northerners live close to barbarous folk.” It’s not a great punchline, admittedly, but then this time it’s not McIntyre speaking. This line is from a historical chronicle written at the start of the 12th century by the Benedictine monk William of Malmesbury. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesta_Pontificum_Anglorum">Originally written in Latin</a>, this passage is one of the earliest recorded observations of the regional diversity of English, and, as we can see, it takes the form of southern criticism of northern speech – and also of the Scots, who are probably the “barbarous folk” blamed for corrupting the English of northerners. It’s all rather subjective, to say the least, but significant.</p>
<h2>A regional language</h2>
<p>English from its origins is a language of regional dialects. The immigrants who brought English to Britain in the fifth century were from several continental Germanic tribes speaking different dialects, including the Angles from Denmark (as we now call it) and the Saxons from north-west Germany. The Angles settled in the midlands and north while the Saxons were in the south, thereby founding the linguistic north/south divide of England. William of Malmesbury shows us that even a millennium ago the English were aware of this north/south divide, and that southerners were a tad condescending about northerners’ way of speaking.</p>
<p>By the late 15th century we know that northerners had begun to get their own back. In The Second Shepherds’ Pageant, a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KqTRBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">medieval play</a> written in Wakefield, some small fun is had at the expense of southern speech. “Now take out that southern tooth,” says one character to another, “And set in a turd!”.</p>
<p>All of this teasing becomes even more spicy once Standard English starts to evolve from the 15th century onwards, for Standard English was based largely on the usages of powerful, educated circles in the south-east. As Standard English norms were gradually imposed on writing and speech, class-based judgements were added to the regional rivalry, and the distinctive features of all dialects of British English came to be viewed as deviations from these norms, and even more funny as a consequence.</p>
<p>Time will tell, but it could be that Standard English reached the height of its use in the mid-20th century. Then in the 1960s things started to shift, as The Beatles’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OQl10ZlfqU&list=PLFEvX58K7_gkuzE9_YYzVBLPBJHDF6DeQ&index=14&t=3s">John Lennon explained</a> in 1975: “We were the first working class singers that stayed working class and pronounced it. We didn’t try to change our accents which in England are … <em>were</em> looked down upon … probably still are.” Nowadays, regional accents are everywhere in the British media, and the internet is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/17/crying-with-laughter-how-we-learned-how-to-speak-emoji">shaking up the formalities</a> of public writing in English too. A lot, LOL! 😂</p>
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<h2>Northern tradition</h2>
<p>However, Standard English has not lost its influence, and neither have the historical north/south perspectives ebbed away. Southerners and northerners still mock <a href="https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/accentsanddialects/">each others’ speech</a>, and custom perceives northern speech to be lower on the social scale than southern, and as deviating from southern-infused Standard English – though this is not quite true.</p>
<p>When in 1975 John Lennon said “working class”, he pronounced the vowel in “class” as a short “a”, like the vowel that most Britons use in “cat”. As he pointed out, this was looked down upon, because in Received Pronunciation and in the south of England most speakers use a long “ahh” vowel in such “class” words. Interestingly, the southern form is actually strictly deviant. Linguists have traced the origin of this “ahh” pronunciation in words like “class” to 17th-century London, possibly emanating from a lengthened form in Cockney speech. The short “a” pronunciation is the <a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/bathset-friends/">more historical form</a>.</p>
<p>The same applies to the northern pronunciation of the vowel in words like “stud” so that it sounds the same as “stood”. Once again it is the northerners who have stuck (“stook”) to the established pronunciation. It was southerners who deviated, introducing a new vowel into “stud” words possibly as a result of a fashionable trend in London <a href="http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/439/kwales.htm">from the 17th century onwards</a>, leading to what linguists call the “<a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/">foot-strut split</a>” —- that is, a group of words which previously had the same vowel became split into two groups with different vowels in the south.</p>
<p>The short-long distinction in “class” words and the “foot-strut” issue are two of the best known differences between northern and southern English accents. While McIntyre and other contemporary comedians joke about allegedly incomprehensible regional dialects, the real funny thing is that although southern forms are seen as socially superior, northern habits are sometimes more traditional.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Penhallurick is author of Studying Dialect (2018), published by Palgrave Macmillan.</span></em></p>Northern dialects are actually close to original English – despite what southerners might say.Rob Penhallurick, Reader in English Language, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/723282017-02-09T12:33:48Z2017-02-09T12:33:48ZWhy so many singers sound American – but British grime artists are bucking the trend<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156053/original/image-20170208-17355-y80igx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Grime artist Bugzy Malone</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/villageunderground/30224374833/in/photolist-NyoiQW-NyoiBu-P1Zwap-Nyoid3-P1Zw3F-Nyoi3o-NXKVMm-Nyohxf-N3PQE4-NXKVxJ-N3PQ3T-NXKVa9-NXKT8d-N3PPCV-NXKUTN-N3PPhV-NXKUBq-NXKUqd-NXKUkU-NXKUew-NXKU3E-N3PMYT-N3PMFP-NQH14m-N3PLS4-Nyoevy">villunderlondon/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most British pop and rock stars sing with an American accent. But UK grime artists are taking pride in their Britishness and staying true to their regional roots. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter where in the UK a singer is from or how they sound when they speak, when the song begins the regional accent usually ends. In its place emerges a general American-type accent. Not precisely identifiable in terms of region but certainly more US than UK. </p>
<p>This common phenomenon is especially striking when we happen to know that, when speaking, the singer shows strong regional features. Think Adele, Cheryl Cole, Jamelia, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, all of whom have distinctly regional accents but adopt an Americanised singing style.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bwDpAfFzcRQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (Speak Of The Devil)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why American?</h2>
<p>So, why is this the case? Most likely it’s a combination of <a href="http://david-crystal.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/on-singing-accents.html">two main factors</a>, one linguistic, one social. Linguistically, the very process of singing has an accent-neutralising effect. Accent differences are largely created through intonation, vowel quality and vowel length – all of which are affected when we sing. In singing, syllables are lengthened, air flow is increased, articulation is less precise. Thus we get a more generic, neutralised accent that happens to share features with American varieties of English. </p>
<p>Socially, there is an expectation (based on musical history) that popular music will be sung this way. It’s not that singers are consciously trying to sound “American”, rather they are adopting the default style for their genre. Linguist Andy Gibson noted a similar trend in New Zealand singers and suggested we should simply call it a “<a href="http://www.news.aut.ac.nz/news/2010/july/why-we-sound-like-americans-when-we-sing">pop music accent</a>”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156056/original/image-20170208-17313-wlctte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alterna2/6783336357/in/photolist-bkqnz8-bkqo5T-gh2Ba7-c7qnh-aiUiFZ-aBD48Y-czPTr-aCqWfN-bBeeqh-6LVi2A-bjWxfk-2bShCr-2bWcdJ-2bWcdq-6LVhb7-caYas-gh2Xff-gh3hbJ-gh3h87-6LR9t4-2bShER-2fgijm-gh3cCp-2bWcdS-gh3cDg-gh3BZ8-bjWxZ6-gh3BT6-2bShAZ-6LVivL-2bRjBx-6LVhzE-6LR7sP-6LR8hg-6LVgMw-2bRjEB-JvkWt-6LR7TZ-6LVkhd-9LKXU-2bWcaW-6LR9ie-6LR9KX-2bShAe-2bRjFX-gaeYrn-6LRap2-6LVk5Y-gh2XnQ-gh3czi">Alterna2/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But this accent neutralisation isn’t inevitable, as the numerous exceptions over the years illustrate. Artists such as Madness, Ian Dury, Lily Allen (London), The Proclaimers, Biffy Clyro (Scotland) and Cerys Matthews (Wales) have all maintained aspects of their regional accents to varying degrees when singing. Linguistics professor Joan Beal explored the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0075424209340014">use of local accent and dialect features</a> in the music of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, suggesting that it represents their authenticity and independence from the corporate machine.</p>
<p>“UK grime” seems to be continuing this tradition. Originating in early 2000s east London, grime is a uniquely British descendant of UK garage, bashment, drum and bass, jungle, and dancehall that has been spreading across the country. And while it does have its own genre-appropriate language in the form of <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fss/projects/linguistics/multicultural/index.htm">Multicultural London English</a> (MLE), there are distinct signs of regional variation.</p>
<p>As you move away from London, features of MLE appear in the speech of young people in other cities, suggesting that it has become the <a href="https://theconversation.com/skepta-grime-and-urban-british-youth-language-a-guide-65611">language of urban British youth</a>. However, small regional differences exist and this is reflected in musical performance. Just as Arctic Monkeys and others took a stand against the accent-neutralising process of popular music, grime artists are resisting the London-centricity of their art. </p>
<h2>Local and proud</h2>
<p>Take Bugzy Malone. Born, raised and based in Manchester, Bugzy’s bars have a distinctive local flavour. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsGKkfElA8k">Listen, for example,</a> to the northern vowel in words such as “up”, “trust”, and “money”, and the tell-tale Manchester vowel sound at the end of “corner”. </p>
<p>Or Lady Leshurr, the unofficial Queen of Birmingham. In her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyodeHtVvkA">Queen’s Speeches</a>, she displays local accent features such as the second vowel sound in “upload” (saying it somewhere between Received Pronunciation (RP) “load” and “loud”).</p>
<p>Similarly, Astroid boys have a subtle yet unmistakable Welsh aspect to their delivery. Notice the typically Cardiff vowel in words like “early”, “burger” and “work”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lODBPucIVR4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>There are two likely reasons for this style of performance. First, rapping arguably has a lot more in common with speaking rather than singing, so the phonetic constraints are not as strong. However, it would still be possible to perform in an entirely “London” way, which early grime artists tended to do.</p>
<p>The second reason is to do with local identity. It’s no coincidence that grime artists rap about their lives and local areas. Bugzy takes pride in having “put Manny on the map”, Lady Leshurr references her Birmingham lingo, and Astroid boys were the subject of a recent <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04rdvlb">BBC Radio documentary</a> in which they said: “Yeah we are from Cardiff … our accent’s in the music, we rap about the streets we grew up on.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156054/original/image-20170208-17341-19zytd1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lady Leshurr at Sónar 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scanner-fm/27116477093/in/photolist-GPvmbW-HjRS9o-QGLAKq-Hjc3CF-J6fAvS-Hjc4yZ-J6fB7S-Hjc2iM-Hj2Vpm-J6fC41-Hjc2oM-J6fBeq-Hjc558-Hjc2WR-HPz8d1-Hjc4CB-Hjc3hk-J6fBVq-Hjc3YF-Hjc59g-Hjc4Rc-Hjc3Qp-J6fBvh-J6fCqU-J6fCkU-J6fCMA-Hjc3xF-Hjc4YX-J6fCEG-HPz83S-Hjc4Jt-Jc9vAb-J6fC9w-Hjc4f2-Jc9viY-Hjc46e-J6fBLN-Hjc3Hk-J6fBnS-J6fAXy-Hjc3q6-J6fARS-J6fAJ7-Hjc3bi-J6fABy-Hjc33x-Hjc2V8-Hjc2Pg-J6fAhf-Hj2Vr5/">scannerFM/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, this reference in performance to the local area is also found among the singers mentioned earlier who maintained their regional accents and identities. Ian Dury, Madness, The Proclaimers and Arctic Monkeys would regularly situate their lyrics locally and could also be seen as having a spoken quality to their music.</p>
<p>So, is this a conscious decision made by grime artists? In a <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/32123/1/lady-leshurr-on-answering-the-haters-in-style">recent interview with Dazed and Confused magazine</a>, Lady Leshurr said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People used to diss my accent and I got insecure and stopped using it. But I just woke up one day and thought, “What are you doing Leesh? You’re from Birmingham, you shouldn’t have to hide your accent because of other people”. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University are now looking at how language and other resources are used by grime artists to construct young, urban, and regional identities. Grime is about staying true to who you are and where you come from, making Lady Leshurr the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DCXiaXa6ow">realest gyal</a>” and other grime artists relatable and engaging. Keeping it regional is their way of keeping it real.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Drummond has received funding from The Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Carrie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When British singers step up to the microphone many adopt an American accent. Grime is the exception.Rob Drummond, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityErin Carrie, Lecturer in Linguistics, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/612482016-06-17T17:24:57Z2016-06-17T17:24:57ZJo Cox: local MP who left her mark on a Yorkshire constituency<p>Jo Cox, who was elected as MP for Batley and Spen in May 2015, was an exceptional politician who energised and enriched politics in her constituency and at Westminster.</p>
<p>In many ways she was a throwback to a period when MPs were regularly drawn from their local constituency. But in an age when professional politicians follow a predictable career trajectory which results in them often being parachuted into communities with which they have few – if any – ties, Jo broke the mould. She went away to study at Cambridge but came “home” to start her political career.</p>
<p>And although public denigration of politicians is widespread, she offered an antidote to such cynicism through her dedication and service to the community she died serving.</p>
<p>Jo made a strong impression on me during her tragically short time as MP for Batley and Spen. We shared a passion for the development of regional devolution in England. She was an active supporter of the <a href="http://www.hannahmitchell.org.uk/">Hannah Mitchell Foundation</a>, a vanguard movement for democratic government for the north of England.</p>
<p>It was telling that, during her <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2016/june/jo-cox-maiden-speech-in-the-house-of-commons/">maiden speech</a> to the House of Commons, she argued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is time to give city and county regions the powers and resources they need to promote growth, and I will happily work with all of those who are genuinely committed to building an economic powerhouse in the north.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She was, however, aware of the contradictions of the Conservative government’s approach to regional devolution. In that same speech, she went on to remark:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yorkshire folk are not fools: talk about devolving power to cities and regions, while simultaneously stripping them of the resources to deliver and subjecting northern councils such as Kirklees to the harshest of cuts, is not compatible with a worthy commitment to building a northern powerhouse to drive growth and prosperity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My own links with Jo were a result of her proactive approach to engaging with the academic community across West Yorkshire. Many MPs can appear wary of engaging with academics. We are often seen as overly-critical or idealistic.</p>
<p>However, shortly after she gave her maiden speech, Jo invited me and my research colleague Arianna Giovannini to meet to discuss regional devolution in England at her constituency office in Batley.</p>
<p>Jo proved to be warm and personable, and very keen to listen to our research on the challenges and complexities of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-george-osborne-devolution-revolution-mean-for-local-councils-48689">regional devolution</a>. She was prepared to rise above party politics to offer an honest critique of the shortcomings of Labour’s approach to constitutional reform in England.</p>
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</figure>
<p>We both found it refreshing to talk to a national politician who understood that decentralisation of power in England would have profound implications in terms of cauterising the political remit of Westminster parliamentarians such as herself. As we left her office a little giddy after meeting her, Arianna exclaimed “Wow! She’s great!” We drove back to Huddersfield excitedly discussing the potential to work with Jo. We also talked about her suitability as a future leader of the party.</p>
<p>Jo also kindly supported my work with young people in promoting democratic engagement and political participation across Kirklees, the borough Huddersfield is part of. She took a keen interest in the development of the My County, My Vote project, which involves a number of schools from her constituency. She also regularly visited local schools and colleges, encouraging young people to become more politically active in their communities.</p>
<p>Her death robs those young people, and of course the citizens of Batley and Spen, of a passionate and dedicated role model. Her impact will be long remembered by all who knew her. The greatest loss is of course to her family and friends and my thoughts are with them. But, as her husband, Brendan, rightly noted, it should also act as a clarion call for us all to fight for the values she stood for. I for one will continue that fight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Mycock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After one meeting with this rising Labour star, we were already talking about her leadership potential.Andrew Mycock, Reader in Politics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/317602014-09-17T05:17:48Z2014-09-17T05:17:48ZCould Newcastle ditch England for an independent Scotland?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59187/original/yht5hrvg-1410885524.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not the bleedin' Geordies 'n' all?!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ianlivesey/14391971523/in/photolist-nVLBJ4-6CnU9T-7NVyuv-bKxCKe-3pMqbg-puwzu-9pB6Gv-dJhVef-e3CVLs-7bDYT8-bJjypX-aJBGYZ-i1474V-4RTUSq-8ZDjU2-5wzBCB-9dJVSc-33W6uR-918Waj-8KEXJA-8XTabM-6y9DVe-fbxRim-dYUYJK-aGpvv-cwa1SU-krgsVg-2MvwpF-aBB82j-gvcfmo-bmab8i-aELggy-iA7f7-e9jmPZ-51kLTy-iSR2qe-g3ZM8n-jkyYSm-9M2VNx-Basrk-8XT9A2-3pRGa3-dunEVA-eBYLNN-juwqZx-qXL5k-aJBH9a-8XqP3A-3pjPuc-bgeaN6">Ian Livesey</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the Scottish independence referendum debate has revived democracy north of the border, it has also led to increased stirrings in the north of England. <a href="http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/campaigner-calls-scottish-border-reach-7702369">One recent proposal</a> has even launched a petition to move the border south to allowing part of the north-east to join Scotland. This is hardly surprising. Newcastle is only around 120 miles from Edinburgh. London is more than twice that distance. Many in the north understandably feel remote from the centres of power. They look enviously at the benefits that devolution has brought Scots and worry that the north would be worse off beneath an independent Scotland. </p>
<p>There is some degree of historical precedent for the idea of moving the border. At one point, the south of Scotland and north of England were a kingdom on their own – <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/420023/Northumbria">the kingdom of Northumbria, which at its peak stretched up to the River Forth near Edinburgh</a>. Centuries earlier, <a href="http://www.visithadrianswall.co.uk">Hadrian’s wall</a> was famously built by the Roman emperor in order to keep the Scots out. <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CD0QqQIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F2%2F14e09b78-3a6d-11e4-8ee4-00144feabdc0.html&ei=kV8YVIbaLtHsaOy_gtAO&usg=AFQjCNEbbjdZDw-kbysNGeIuKwPd1M_14w&sig2=Ps8rl9b4qOvA7PbFC4I77g&bvm=bv.75097201,d.ZWU">Some 60 miles south</a> of the current border, its remains can be seen across the north of England, from Carlisle in the west, to Wallsend in post-industrial Newcastle in the east. It remains a major tourist draw to this day. It is precisely this famous border that the recent petition seeks to reinstate. Hadrian’s wall would then become a mechanism for pulling Scots in, rather than keeping them out. Whether it would be redubbed Alex’s wall were the petition successful is another question. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59188/original/kswwztg9-1410885682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We rename these boulders Alex’s wall!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eguidetravel/7005591392/in/photolist-cNi5L-qTtck-fTUEtr-bF4ufu-bTYeFa-bTYfMx-bF4u5b-bF4uaA-bF4vpq-bTYg9c-bTYeLv-bF4tTw-bF4uKQ-bF4vxJ-bTYf6c-bF4veS-4G8BQq-BFdfj-bF4tPy-bTYg5t-bF4uxN-bF4ty3-bF4tJb-bF4tDU-bTYfkk-bTYggt-bTYfBT-bF4tZC-bTYfWX-bF4uEj-bTYff6-bF4v93-4XAgwK-agSxLJ-agQRgy-4G4rR8-agPGk6-agPi9k-agPNdc-agQGLU-agNWBR-88mzXo-agP9Cv-abLm5E-abLkHf-abLmPo-abHxkF-abLmcU-abHxvi-abHx2V">eGuide Travel</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>With the exception of island states, borders are largely arbitrary constructs. Sometimes they can move quickly, as the experience at the end of the Cold War in central and eastern Europe demonstrated. More normally, they are the result of centuries of population movements, conquest and conflict, and political agreement and negotiation. Fortunately, there has been little or no physical conquest and conflict on the border between Scotland and England for many decades. </p>
<p>To use Hadrian’s wall and the River Tyne as the suggested border underlines the potential arbitrariness of this idea, though. What about Gateshead and Sunderland to the south? How would people in County Durham feel if they look north to a Newcastle joining Scotland? And what about the famously independent people of Yorkshire and even, further afield, the <a href="http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/poll-vote-your-scouse-national-7774743">“people’s republic”</a> of Liverpool? </p>
<h2>Reality check</h2>
<p>Beyond the occasional headline-grabbing petition, there is no real political desire or demand on either side of the Scottish border for it to be moved. Scotland has no interest in territorial growth and expansion. This would mean adding a sizeable population and additional public policy demands. Neither does Westminster have any desire for it. To lose Scotland would be viewed as disastrous by the London-elite. To lose part of England as well would be unthinkable. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20042070">To the extent that</a> the border has been an issue in the referendum, it has been about how it extends into the North Sea. This would be absolutely vital in negotiations were the Yes campaign successful, since the sea border would define the location of Scotland’s oil and major source of wealth. Drawing it in a different place may have considerable economic consequences to Scotland and the rest of the UK. </p>
<p>The worry that the border-moving petition taps into is that the north would be squeezed by a Scotland which will have increasing tax powers and the will to use them. <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Factfile/18060/11550">Devolution in 1999</a> was already asymmetric because only one side of the border was involved. And Scottish tax powers will be further extended whatever the outcome of the referendum. The <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/11/contents/enacted">Scotland Act 2012</a>, already on the statute book, has implications for Scottish taxation when it is implemented next April. </p>
<p>If the Yes campaign wins, the <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-independence-corporate-tax-slash-pledge-1-2939285">plan to cut corporation tax rates</a> set out in the <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/11/9348">Scottish government’s white paper</a> on independence have the potential to attract businesses and jobs to Scotland, bypassing the north of England. Plans to cut air passenger duty by 50% could also impact badly on Newcastle and other northern airports. </p>
<p>The north-east of England is also squeezed on the other side by a remote ruling class in Westminster, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jan/13/public-sector-cuts-2015-axe-fall">which has pledged</a> to implement further large-scale cuts on local authorities after the 2015 general election. <a href="http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-c46a-North-west-England-hit-hardest-by-cuts">Evidence indicates</a> that the north of England has suffered disproportionally under the post-2010 cuts regime – and there is more of this to come. Of course the electoral geography matters too in perceptions of fairness, as it also does in Scotland. The north is Labour-voting, the south Conservative-dominated.</p>
<h2>The upside of the Scottish border</h2>
<p>There are opportunities here for the north, however. Although the idea of a North-East Regional Assembly <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3984387.stm">was roundly defeated</a> in 2004, and most people in England feel that regional government just means more politicians, Scotland’s referendum has gradually put discussions about regional devolution back on the agenda in England. <a href="http://www.northeastcouncils.gov.uk/curo/downloaddoc.asp?id=589">A report in 2013, “Borderlands”</a>, pointed to areas where northern councils may co-operate with their Scottish counterparts on areas of mutual interest, providing a counterweight to Westminster. </p>
<p>More recently, a relatively weak form of administrative devolution has been created with the establishment of a <a href="http://www.northeastca.gov.uk">North East Combined Authority</a> to help pool resources between councils from Durham to Northumberland. The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29155854">is promoting</a> a plan to devolve power to English City regions. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2753334/It-handy-Queen-spoke-save-Union-says-Farage-warns-Salmond-Scotland-EU-state.html">Even Nigel Farage</a> has got in on the act, calling for a federal settlement for the United Kingdom. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59189/original/5jhwv5hq-1410885911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Still united to England?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emry/2156758804/in/photolist-ddD43H-dcAgkY-ddD416-7VUKPU-d4dyBQ-cTXwWQ-d4dyxC-7RdkbN-4SVpRr-748NvP-dx16yZ-ihfnYo-dudoHD-sxbie-748RZa-5417pE-uzVM6-56yQYt-56CZKG-4hzXfC-okBkq4-7twsBw-74cNVj-4Mzo3L-zt7tu-5bWBPX-8iRukm-bT4ZLV-8iRujb-5r5W7f-oiSf6d-9t2154-9t4Zkq-748KPK-7twwud-7tssjt-74cF6d-748QhD-74cGYW-74cMsA-748MKx-7tsrii-7twiLU-7twvt5-748Pxp-dvkutJ-a6k6vn-7tsozp-a6kave-dqhZCM">Steve and Sarah Emry</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>We have heard some of this before. There are regular proposals to give relatively weak powers to major cities, for example. What is required in the north of England, and in every other region of England, is some form of properly thought-through regional devolution with real powers to balance that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Without this, claims of alienation by Westminster will grow ever stronger while people will look enviously over the border at what the other three nations have. So if Scotland does vote Yes on Thursday, I can’t see any prospect of parts of north England looking to join. But like it or not, England is changing as a result of Scottish debates even if the border remains in the same place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair is a Trustee and Executive Member of the Political Studies Association of the UK.</span></em></p>While the Scottish independence referendum debate has revived democracy north of the border, it has also led to increased stirrings in the north of England. One recent proposal has even launched a petition…Alistair Clark, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.