Provincial Britain

Just a thought as I was travelling through Northern Italy and Southern France… Both countries have stunning second/third cities. Italy has Milan and Florence, France, Lyon and Bordeaux. Spain also has Barcelona. Of course they have their problems, but they are grand cities with significant investment and land mark buildings. They are tourist centres in their own right outside their capital cities, making bold gestures from food and wine to the arts and architecture. All supported by relatively smooth infrastructure.

In the UK, we have Manchester and Birmingham and the beautiful but small Edinburgh if you reach up as far as Scotland.

Is that enough? Not quite, even though I come from the North West.

What becomes apparent as you discuss the UK on the continent, outside confusion over the self-harm of Brexit, is the dominance of London. Many Europeans simply don’t know what lies beyond or if they do, don’t see the regions competing on any even footing with London. Few non-UK tourists reach for a guide book on Manchester and Birmingham I suspect, or even know about the beautiful countryside of places such as the Lake District. Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath and Oxford and Cambridge may just occasionally creep into their consciousness.

This must change, particularly as we have to forge a sharper identity outside the European Union. Real investment in the Midlands/North with some grand architectural gestures and new arts and food initiatives is crucial to balancing the image of Britain.

That means investment. HS2 is a good thing, although the cost of travelling by public transport is not. The Northern Powerhouse attracting investment to the North is crucial too but seems to be losing headway under Theresa May and Brexit chaos. We need brave gestures to further renovate our grand provincial city centres. Michael Heseltine, as Environment Secretary under Thatcher, did this brilliantly in Liverpool (but further to go….) and we need a similar champion now. Even London could do with more effort. Why couldn’t we achieve consensus over the garden bridge and where are the plans for cross-rail two?

The UK needs to be bold as it works out a future outside Europe, not mean-spirited and penny pinching. The Government should invest but so should business along the lines of the huge sponsorship initiatives beloved by the Americans. It is time to shake up Provincial Britain to challenge anywhere the continent has to offer.

These are just first gentle ideas on my return from holiday, with Boris Johnson barely registering….