The N.E of England has among the very lowest economic output per capita in Britain, the highest unemployment and lowest education scores and that’s in spite of some of the highest EU regional assistance payments and the presence of Nissan which pumps half a £billion annually into the local economy in direct wages alone. That’s a tragedy.
It’s a pity then that the Brexit pissing contest always involves pointing elsewhere, whether it be Europe or indeed Scotland in order to scream ‘fire’ while they’re inhaling their own smoke. There’s a good reason for it- it’s a distraction from the self inflicted consequences of Brexit and an expression of that old sense of entitlement that accompanies the whole anti-EU, ethic nationalist sentiment that runs so strong in the Shires.