The people have spoken, but in the North they have shouted. Economically, politically and socially Northerners have had enough. The signs of malaise with the Westminster elite have been there for some time – but the rise of Ukip outside the big cities has been largely masked by the sop of devolution, talk of a Northern Powerhouse and our voting system. Now, Northerners in large numbers would seem to have landed a punch that will give the whole nation a bloody nose for years to come.
Economically, to leave the EU is clearly not in Northern interests. Whatever you believe about the Northern Powerhouse, few can deny that our trading relationships with our (soon to be former) European partners matter much more to northern businesses than they do to the City of London. Nearly sixty per cent of all North Eastern trade is with Europe, compared with just 40 per cent in London. And yet who will be first to the table to negotiate new trade deals? What will guide decision-making in the board room at Nissan or Siemens? If we end up bidding farewell to our nearest neighbours in Scotland, no amount of repatriated EU grant will begin to plug the hole that this decision leaves. The North’s incomplete transition from its industrial past has meant that it has fared worse than the rest of the country in every recession since the 70s, and that transition just got a whole lot harder.
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