The allocation of the UK’s Global Talent Fund (GTF) stands as a recent and compelling illustration of a much larger, systemic issue within UK policy: persistent regional inequality. Far from being an isolated administrative oversight, the GTF decision serves as a potent case study, revealing deeper patterns of uneven investment and opportunity distribution that disproportionately impact regions such as the North of England and, specifically, Yorkshire.
I do not feel English. I feel like a Northerner. This is a region with a distinct identity, and its ancient kingdom of Northumbria still seems to pull the overwhelming majority of the weight in the UK’s economy. Yet, everywhere you look, it gets shafted by the central government. Most of all, I feel distinctly like a Yorkshireman.
The Northern Powerhouse was an idea; now we have the data to judge its implementation. It is time to learn from its shortcomings, to listen to the voices of Yorkshire, and to demand a new path forward.
How deep does a council’s green commitment truly run? It’s one thing to declare a “climate emergency” and set ambitious net-zero deadlines; it’s quite another to fund and enforce them.
The UK has historically been one of the most centralized countries in the Western world, with Westminster politics and Whitehall bureaucracy deeply ingrained in almost every aspect of public life. This centralized model of public service delivery has been “tested to destruction,” leading to a lack of excellence and proving both ineffective and expensive due to attempts to micromanage services from the centre
A pervasive narrative, echoed relentlessly across headlines, screams that nicotine pouches are “too strong” and “almost completely unregulated.” Is this the truth? Absolutely not. This is a disingenuous distortion.
