If the regions are to rise, London must take a hit | Simon Jenkins

Northern cities will only flourish when the capital stops stealing their young people

I recall one word that dominated a business seminar in Manchester some time ago. The seminar was on the north-south divide, and the word was London. It was obsessive. Why does London keep taking our best people, everyone asked? Why do our children all want to get to London?

This week’s report by Lord Kerslake on the north-south divide presents the problem in graphic terms. The Organisation for Economic...