Southerners often scoff at the north; “It’s grimy, it’s bleak, it’s stupid”, some even go so far as to warn tourists that a trip there is pointless: “Oh you needn’t bother going past Birmingham, nothing else to see from there onwards”. Some think themselves better than their northern neighbours: “don’t you know all Scousers are vagrants and criminals?” So what’s so special about southerners eh? What makes them think there so much better? The answer is obviously unclear.

The name “United Kingdom” is bitterly ironic; how are we “united” when the north and south of England are divided, Wales and Scotland want independence and Ireland wants its northern part back? The problems may well stem from the second industrial revolution. By sheer chance, natural resources were more abundant in the north. Local supplies of coal, iron, lead, copper, tin and limestone resulted in excellent conditions for the development and expansion of industry. But the south raped the north of all its riches. Whilst northerners grafted on and risked their lives in dangerous mines, the fat cats of the south processed the materials and sold the outcomes.

One must read Orwell’s “Road to Wigan Pier” to understand the social discrepancies that exist between north and south. Despite being half a century old the book still remains prescient, the stereotypes it perpetuates and consequentially attempts to strike down, are still the same that the south holds towards the north today. Indeed, Orwell realizes these stereotypes are nurtured and developed when he states: “That was what we were taught–the lower classes smell”.

The north doesn’t smell, nor is it any bleaker than south. The north is home to good people, beautiful countryside and dominant football teams, it’s about time the south wised up.