The north/south divide still alive and well

[Heatheronthehill]

So infections are dropping considerably where I live in the North West, we’ve had some sort of restrictions in place since July. Now that London and the South East have an increase in infections they are considering not allowing the mixing of households at Christmas time, my question is would they do the same if the situation was reversed?
I’m also angry that there’s an uproar over tier 3 and how dreadful it is, when we’ve been living with the same up here for months.

I suppose many will disagree, but I feel there’s a real bias towards the North unfortunately.

Many Northern towns aren’t even in the top 100 or the top 150 for infection rates. But if London is in tier 3 everywhere will be. London is the only place that matters, apparently. If they can’t open, no one can. Childish really.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/15-towns-coronavirus-cases-surging-23172690

Agree @Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady

[quote SleepyGirly]Many Northern towns aren’t even in the top 100 or the top 150 for infection rates. But if London is in tier 3 everywhere will be. London is the only place that matters, apparently. If they can’t open, no one can. Childish really.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/15-towns-coronavirus-cases-surging-23172690[/quote]
You're aware that there is no proposal for the whole country to go to tier 3, right? Just London and some surrounding areas, plus areas that were already in tier 3.

Just want to point out we have 73 MPs in London, 21 of them are Tory. This shit show if a government is not our fault.

I think it’s more of a London/everywhere else divide.

There’s more of the north in tier 3 than there is of the south in tier 3. I’m Midlands but more north than south and our rates are rising rapidly and we will stay in tier 3.

Daily mail says mixing can still go ahead at Christmas. Personally I don’t think it should go ahead when rates are increasing so rapidly. Boris always said he’d follow the science and now he isnt doing.

Such enormous chips on some shoulders.
It's not just about infection rates. It's about hospital capacity, age of population and a few other things.
Unfortunately it isn't possible to bring regions out of tier 3 immediately rates start dropping.
Although I recall Liverpool came down from 3 to 2 after the lockdown so it can be done if all the criteria are met.

@MoirasRoses

Yep. I’m in West Yorkshire & frankly I’m disgusted at how we’ve been treated. We’ve basically had restrictions the entire year. We had 3 weeks when we could go in other peoples houses & to dinner with other households. 3 weeks. We’ve been in ‘tier 2’ since August. Except they banned us meeting in parks as well. Our hospitality industry has obliterated. With zero support until it bloody affected London.

I’ve got no issue with the north/south thing usually. My OH is from Hampshire & I lived there for years. I’ve never really considered it any kind of issue. But this really highlights how little we are thought of. It makes me angry.

Yep, that about sums it up. I'm actually in a mid tier area but we are surrounded by tier 3 areas. many of my friends are in areas where their local district has very low infection rates (think market towns and suburbs) but their overall unitary area had high rates, so they've been massively restricted for months and months. It also seems unfair that now areas in the south have been split out into districts (herts and Essex) whereas up here Swales of the country have been lumped together, and whilst the suggestion of the new strain may well be true, it does smack a bit of, you in the north were feckless, but we have a different strain, that's why rates are rising... 🙄

Same in the Midlands, who nobody ever mentions.

Poor old Leicester have been in lockdown the longest and they're never even mentioned any more.

Or swathes even...

@ktp100

Same in the Midlands, who nobody ever mentions.

Poor old Leicester have been in lockdown the longest and they're never even mentioned any more.

It's absolute pap.

The West Midlands has also been fucked over. My sons had six self isolations from school and Covid because our schools are rife with it. My other GCSE year child had a month of isolations too.

Leicester has been treated appallingly, in lockdown since March and no rapid testing, so I think Govt only cares about the South.

I’m in the South (not London) and it definitely appears that there is a North/South divide, but also a London/rest of England divide. It does seem as though London cannot possibly be expected to go into tier 3 alone and will take down many others (in the North!) with it. The North does seem to be somewhat forgotten about and there is uproar when the same restrictions are talked about in the South.

As long as the southerners are miserable it's all good, eh? Maybe some of you realise that we've been going through all this shit too, our relatives are dying too, we're just following the rules as they change just like you are. Some of us are even human beings! The spite and vitriol directed towards people in the South, fucking hell you'd think we invented this shitshow just to spite you.

I'm so sad. I've heard nothing but sympathy and condolence from people down here for what people in the North have been through, but all I hear coming the other way is nastiness and hopes for our misery. Jesus.

How is London ‘taking down’ anywhere else?
Rates rose in 246 out of 315 areas this week - if the rates are going up the tiers won’t be moved down.

@MsPants

As long as the southerners are miserable it's all good, eh? Maybe some of you realise that we've been going through all this shit too, our relatives are dying too, we're just following the rules as they change just like you are. Some of us are even human beings! The spite and vitriol directed towards people in the South, fucking hell you'd think we invented this shitshow just to spite you.

I'm so sad. I've heard nothing but sympathy and condolence from people down here for what people in the North have been through, but all I hear coming the other way is nastiness and hopes for our misery. Jesus.

Absolutely this.

@MsPants

As long as the southerners are miserable it's all good, eh? Maybe some of you realise that we've been going through all this shit too, our relatives are dying too, we're just following the rules as they change just like you are. Some of us are even human beings! The spite and vitriol directed towards people in the South, fucking hell you'd think we invented this shitshow just to spite you.

I'm so sad. I've heard nothing but sympathy and condolence from people down here for what people in the North have been through, but all I hear coming the other way is nastiness and hopes for our misery. Jesus.

I'm certainly not directing any vitriol at people in the south, more the government for their inadequate response and what is seemingly their view of the north as slightly irritating, but necessary, halfwits...

@Burpeesshmurpees

And like a PP said London didn't vote for this bastard government.

I'm with you there.

That would be a bias against the North.

But I agree. Suddenly more support is needed when London hits tier 3.

Maybe all the new Tory MPs in the North of the country should be on the receiving end of this vitriol.

Nobody wants Londoners - or indeed Southerners in general - to be miserable (at least I hope they don't - it would be awful if people did), but there's no denying there seems to be a very definite North/South divide at play here.

People mention how it's not just infection rates, it's hospital capacity, but that just highlights how the Midlands and the North have been screwed over in terms of funding.

It's not a reflection of most people living in London, but there's definitely an air of the government not giving a shit about anybody who lives north of about Watford.

And I'm glad I wasn't the only person who - probably very bitterly - thought it was convenient that this was a 'new strain' that was affecting London, so of course it wasn't their fault rates were rising, it was the new strains fault. And yes, I'm well aware of how viruses work and mutate, but I still thought it. And that's what happens when people (again, not saying it's most Londoners) have been quick to say rates in the North/Midlands were due to poor compliance, but that's not what's happened in London. It causes some bitterness.