Well, the message from the Fylde is that "it's sad down South".
That's the local reaction to the highly controversial findings of the Policy Exchange report last week.
The registered charity – said to be Conservative leader David Cameron's favo
urite think tank – gave the North such a thrashing with its Cities Unlimited study, it was like being smacked in the face with half a pound of wet tripe.
The report stated that a decade of regeneration policies has failed to stop the inequality of opportunity between towns and cities in the North and those in the South East increasing.
Cities such as Liverpool, Sunderland and Bradford and towns like Bolton, Oldham and Rochdale all came under fire. The study said Northern people should move South.
But John Coombes, leader of Fylde Council, hit back.
"Fylde has some of the best quality of life indicators in the country! We also have one of the strongest housing markets, lowest unemployment levels and highest life expectancy figures in England," he stormed.
"Fylde, I would remind them, also does well in respect of climate, with more sun and lower than average rainfall for the North.
"In fact, Fylde is a rarity these days as an all round great place to live, work and play and comparing it to the push and shove lifestyle of the South East is no contest, the North wins hands down.
"I am always happy to see the Lancashire boundary signs when I am returning from business in the South and for me I would say 'life is sad down South'."
Mr Cameron has dismissed the report as "rubbish".
n See Express Comment – Page 4.
The full article contains 289 words and appears in Lytham St Annes Express newspaper.
