The Northern Question (A History of a Divided Country)

A majestic history of the North of England

The North of England no longer attracts much in the way of serious scrutiny. The London media periodically wrings its hands about the north-south divide and the left behind. Most recently, the north has been blamed for the rise of the ethno-nationalist populism of UKIP and for Brexit, while pop-culture histories celebrate the indomitability of underdog northerners. A region with a reputation for plain speaking deserves sharper treatment than this.

A regional perspective may not solve all, or even most, of history's problems. Highlighting inequalities between regions risks obscuring those within them. But foregrounding the problem of the North brings into sharp relief some distinctive features of the national landscape: the basic distinction between a manufacturing-oriented north and west, and services-heavy south and east; the outsized nature of London; and the distinctive dual nature of British capitalism, with City of London institutions predominant and for a long time detached from provincial manufacturing.The North has followed a trajectory--from medieval backwater to industrial colossus and post-industrial derelict--arguably more extreme than any of the world's other rustbelts, and only through understanding this history can we possible understand its present-day crisis.