Shelagh Fogarty questions UK's 'very strange' need to create a divide between the North and South
5 December 2022, 16:23 | Updated: 5 December 2022, 16:28
Shelagh Fogarty questions the ‘red lines’ that divide the country.
"We're all in the same nation aren't we?" asks Shelagh Fogarty as she shares confusion towards the regional "aversions" in this country.
Shelagh Fogarty delved into a discussion about "levelling up" with this caller.
Justin in Andover said the UK is not in a position to deliver "levelling up" because of "reluctance" and the "sheer power" London holds economically.
Shelagh sympathised with his point, saying: "There hasn't been enough political will to do it."
She said the UK doesn't "harness" the "people" "talent" and "potential" that is in the North.
This led Shelagh to relate this to her career, she said choosing to stay in local radio rather than broadcast from the capital would be seen as a "black mark against your name".
"You stayed in the North all your life, are you thick? Oh, you went South? You abandoned where you're from," she mocked.
"And you just think what is wrong with this titchy tiny country?"
Shelagh continued: "It's very strange, I think it's strange that we have this aversion to one another in regional terms, very odd I think, because we're all in the same nation aren't we?"
The caller agreed and went on to say that he is a fan of HS2 calling it a "start" to the UK's attempt to deliver levelling up.
He told Shelagh: "At least it is trying to join up some of the dots."
