The Times: North-South divide widening

Britain’s North-South economic divide is widening, according to a report from Cambridge University’s Centre for Business Research due to be published next month. The study of 1,309 small firms from 1997 to 1999 showed that businesses in London and the South East have been “romping ahead” while companies in the West Midlands and the North have become less profitable, less productive and less successful at exporting … David Keeble, of the Centre for Business Research, said: “Our research shows that firms in the North, Scotland and Wales have been hit by problems like the high pound and sluggish markets.”