Not sure at all about a "big chip on the shoulder about anything London/South" , that`s a big claim. And, i`m not alluding to any big conspiracy and Andy Burnham is all about Manchester, nothing to do with Lancashire where I live.
I`m a southerner, lived long time in London and Kent and moved up here after spending my working life in the south. I`m very happy with all aspects of living up here, the folks are generally really nice and friendly and I`m pretty sure that i`d never move to any other part of the country. I`ve been made very welcome and the fact that there are lots of people re-locating up here from the South hasn`t been an issue for the locals.
Thing is, whether it`s unconscious bias or not - who knows; but i`m beginning to see things slightly differently and am a lot more open-minded to the notion that there is some regional inequality around. Forgive me, Steve, but aren`t you the man with the finger on the train pulse ? (might be confusing you with another poster - sorry if that`s the case). An example would be transport. East-west travel by road or rail should be greatly improved. Too many short east-west trips up here that short be short journeys aren`t. I couldn`t believe the shocking state of the ancient trains up here when I moved to Lancs. Thought i`d gone back in time forty years.
HMG says that it is intending to right some of the disparities and I think that the Govt`s stated intention to alter the Green Book is a stark admission that spending the Treasury`s funds has been unfairly weighted in favour of the London area.
(Green Book is Official Treasury text that evaluates big investment projects, and uses a formula and a process that biases government investment to where economic growth, high productivity, and high house prices are already concentrated - in and around London).
Hope you don`t sing that awful song about cats and dustbins when you attend away games up here