The Northern Question: A History of a Divided Country

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Britain has scarcely begun to come to terms with its recent upheavals, from the crisis over Brexit to the collapse of Labours red wall. What can explain such momentous shifts In this essential work, Tom Hazeldine excavates the history of a divided country: North and South, industry versus finance, Whitehall and the left-behind. Only by fully registering these deep-seated tensions, he argues, can we make sense of the present moment. Hazeldine tracks the North-South divide over the longue dure, from the formation of an English state rooted in London and the south-east; the Industrial Revolution and the rise of provincial trade unions and the Labour party; the dashed hopes for regional economic renewal in the post-war years; the sharply contrasting fates of northern manufacturing and the City of London under Thatcher and New Labour; to the continuing repercussions of financial crisis and austerity. The Northern Question is set to transform our understanding of the politics of Westminster its purpose, according to Hazeldine, to stand English history on its head.

Reviews

A lively, provocative and richly researched book. Tom Hazeldine shows that far from being marginal to British politics and culture, northern England has played a pivotal role in British history - and must be given serious consideration by the politicians of the future. Well-written and absorbing. -- Selina Todd, author of Tastes of Honey and The People
The definitive account of the historical importance of the North-South Divide. A masterly history of the shifting social forces shaped by this enduring fault-line. -- Geoffrey Ingham, author of The Nature of Money and Capitalism Divided
The disparity between the North of England and the South East is a rich and tangled history. Hazeldine's account is persuasive, and his long view is valuable. With real acuity, he highlights key differences in people's ideas of political possibility. -- John Harris * Guardian *
The first serious study of the social and historical fissure to appear in more than 30 years. * Big Issue *
An expansive account of the north-south divide -- Lynsey Hanley * Financial Times *
Traces London's parasitic rise to prominence on the back of industry and the provincial poor, which it briskly cast off once they became unprofitable * New Welsh Review *
Hazeldine convincingly asserts a northern reality. His point is that Brexit, and the collapse of Labour's Red Wall, are just the latest consequences of a divide written into England's political and economic geography. -- Rory Scothorne * London Review of Books *

Author Bio

Tom Hazeldine was born in Manchester, and is now an editor-at-large at Verso and a contributor to New Left Review. He collaborated on the Verso edition of Gerrard Winstanleys writings, A Common Treasury.