The United Kingdom has developed a bit of a “North-South divide” over the years, with many believing that all of the opportunities, and money, is in the South and specifically London where the well-paid office jobs are located; while cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh have been working in the industrial sectors and earning whatever they can to make ends meet.
This split has created something of a “poorer” North and a “richer” South and created a bit of a rivalry between residents. Over the years this has changed, but the theory is still there among many residents even if Alexander & Co accountants in Manchester feel that it’s not true at all.
A spokesperson said “The North-South divide is something that we’ve all been aware of over the years and it used to be true. Today, however, things are looking much brighter for the North and that’s not because of a power shift necessarily, but because people in the North of the UK are looking to give things a try up here rather than moving down to London in order to forge successful careers like they used to.”
While the North-South stereotype has had periods where it has appeared to be correct, the UK is going through a transition – as Alexander & Co said – and the Northern cities are moving away from the industries such as mining and manufacturing which made them famous and instead they are being encouraged to make themselves into rivals for the Southern cities with their own digital sectors.
The TechNorth initiative is a prime example here, being created by the Government to encourage Northern entrepreneurs to try their hand at running their own companies in and around the likes of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.
The North used to be the part of England specifically that brought in the majority of the money for the country, you only have to read anything about the Industrial Revolution for an understanding of how and why, but essentially employees and employers looked to transform the UK into an economic powerhouse through manufacturing industries.
That did work for several centuries, but then it became cheaper for companies to outsource their manufacturing needs to Asia in particular and this left the Northern firms in serious difficulties and this eventually led to closures and unemployment.
At the same time, cities such as London were thriving in other areas such as business and finance, and they managed to survive by negotiating new deals with these firms and bringing money to the South of England – which is how the divide was made.
Through plans such as TechNorth, however, the UK as a whole is starting to bounce back from its crippling recessions and the digital sector in particular is one of the reasons behind that. New, up and coming talent are using their skills right across the country rather than focussing on one particular area and the likes of Manchester and Leeds are reaping the rewards with others – like Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow, set to follow.