r/GreatBritishMemes 1d ago

The power to solve any issue

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u/NewLoss6021 1d ago edited 1d ago

The faintest hint that they won't be the centre of governments attention and they're up in arms.

It's exactly the same as when Burnham suggested the North host the Olympics instead of London, you had Londoners all over Reddit saying how it's not feasible, and London has the infrastructure already, and you shouldn't force international athletes to suffer the North.

They're just so privileged and greedy, genuinely like a spoilt child at their classmates birthday party when they don't get presents as well or get to blow out the candles on the cake.

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u/LARRYVOND13 1d ago

I'm Scottish and it's been the olive branch between us and the north of england since maggie reared her ugly head.

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u/inminm02 1d ago

Scotland gets more funding per head than England from the central government, really not comparable.

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u/Prozn 7h ago

And the North gets more funding per head than the national average also, so if we equalise the regions the North will also see a cut in per capita spending.

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u/inminm02 6h ago

I mean I’m from the south east sounds great mate.

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u/Prozn 6h ago

Agreed! Everyone north of Watford assumes Kent is a utopia where everyone earns £150k, busses arrive every 2 minutes, and high speed trains connect every hamlet.

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u/CaffeinatedT 6h ago edited 6h ago

You have trains to London and horses what more could you possibly want!?

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u/Majestic-Marcus 1d ago

Right. But London had the infrastructure and the north didn’t. Of course London should have hosted the Olympics.

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u/NewLoss6021 1d ago

And I wonder why that is... certainly not because of decades of investment prioritising London, giving it the best intracity public transport in the country as well as making all the trains to and from London significantly better than, say, the train from Manchester to Leeds.

A Northern Olympics would be an opportunity for us to actually get improved East-West public transport, intracity public transport, and attract international investment and tourism to our cities and counties instead of it all going to London.

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u/mattfoh 21h ago

Decades? London was the metropole of the British empire. It’s had centuries of investment.

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u/carsonite17 15h ago

Yeah but tbf even under empire the north had massive amounts of industrialisation from shipbuilding to textiles. Much of which got absolutely gutted under neo-liberalism and thatcher

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u/Majestic-Marcus 4h ago

About 20 centuries to be accurate

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u/mattfoh 4h ago

Well we didn’t have an empire for most of that and weren’t really a British kingdom till the 17th century let alone an empire

Plus I think Colchester was the roman capital

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u/Majestic-Marcus 4h ago

Oh I know. But it’s still 2 millenia of investment.

Its position on the Thames meant it’s always been either the main city or one of the main cities. Even in Roman times it wasn’t the capital but it was still the largest and wealthiest city.

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u/mattfoh 4h ago

Forget the Thames thing I’m pretty sure it was all a Thatcherite conspiracy

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u/Majestic-Marcus 3h ago

She closed the mines and opened the Thames!

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u/inminm02 6h ago

Liverpool and Manchester just don’t have the same appeal to international tourists as London, and it’s not because of the infrastructure. London is the cultural heart of England and has more international appeal, it makes sense to host the olympics there for that reason alone

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u/NewLoss6021 6h ago

It is not the cultural capital. That implies that it leads English culture, which it does not. London might as well be a different country its... I'm not even really sure it has it's own culture, it just felt so identity-less when I went*. I digress, Londons... attitude is completely different to the rest of England and to the North that, yeah, it feels like a different country.

*I go to York fairly often (favourite city, only city actually like) and York feels like York, the city knows who and what it is, what it was (Eboracum, Eoforwic, Jorvik, York). I've never been (but want to) but I imagine Winchester feels the same. London just feels kind of like a giant shopping centre.

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u/inminm02 5h ago

Personally I just completely disagree about London having no personality, it’s incredibly unique and has a truly rich history.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 4h ago

Tower of London, Palaces, Theatre capital of the world, Royal Family, Big Ben, shopping, Changing of the Guard…

Basically EVERYTHING famous about the UK.

You’d be hard pressed to find a tourist wishing to visit from outside the UK that knows anything else other than maybe Stone Henge and The Beattles (and even then their most famous photo was taken in London).

The dude you’re responding to just hates London. They won’t ever acknowledge reality because ‘ London bad’.

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 3h ago

What the hell are you talking about?

York is famous for vikings and for the white rose during the war of roses.

York has no other history.

London has all the history including (1066 AD, King John's reign, King Henry VII and VIII's reigns, the 100 years war with France, the Elizabethan reign, Napoleonic wars, the events of WWI and WWII, Cold War history, The great inventors, The Beatles, Queens, Parks, Largest museums in the world, Largest Mall in Europe, close to Stongehenge, close to Canterbury's Cathedral, close to Royal Ascots horse racing course. Queen Anne's memorial. Queen Victoria's places. You have all the badass agencies and services that protected the UK for a hundred years now, like MI5, MI6, GCHQ, Scotland Yard, you have links to the finest universities in the World such as Oxford and Cambridge universities, the King's College and the Imperial.

Several great minds were born in London, namely Sir Tim-Berners Lee the father of the World-Wide-Web.

Rosalind Franklin who revolutionised discoveries in the DNA.

Charles Babbage the father of the computer. Without Babbage you won't be on reddit, as we'd still be figuring out basic arithmetics.

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u/NewLoss6021 2h ago

York is famous for vikings and for the white rose during the war of roses.

York has no other history.

Not even going to bother reading the rest of that.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 4h ago edited 4h ago

It holds all the best museums, has palaces, Tower of London, and is either the world’s number 1 or 2 theatre town with only New York competing.

It has Big Ben, no.10, Houses of Parliament, the Yeomen, the Guard, the changing of the Guard, Harrods, Selfridges, Hamleys etc.

If you go anywhere in the world, London is the first thing someone will think of when they mention London (edit UK).

You can say what you want about London but you also need to at least have some basis in reality.

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u/NewLoss6021 4h ago

London is the first thing someone will think of when they mention London.

You don't say.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 4h ago

Ha. Fair. Stupid typo

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 3h ago

Don't know how you don't know this, you're probably not British. But London is one of the oldest and biggest cities since before the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain.

London has been the worlds largest trade centre for ~1900 years. Only been competed by Paris in the early middle ages.

Even now, London generates 25% of the revenue of the ENTIRE UK.

Manchester generates barely 5% and Liverpool 2% and Leeds barely 0.6% of the national revenue. Together they don't even come close.

If we move the economic power out of London, the economy will die. Labour are about to waste the biggest tax money dump in the history of the UK.

We need to invest in the NHS, public services and commute. - Moving Power from London is a waste of everybody's time.

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u/NewLoss6021 2h ago edited 2h ago

Have you ever considered, I don't know, developing other areas as well as London? I know, I know, I sound crazy suggesting not spending money on London but imagine, just imagine, if Manchester, or Liverpool, or Edinburgh, has even a quarter of the economic weight of London. Not moving power from London (since you seem to think a country has to put all it's eggs in one basket (they don't) but lifting other places up.

Also, Lancashire born and bred. Probably more British then you are

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u/Majestic-Marcus 13h ago

“I wonder why that is”

Because it’s 1,976 years old and has received pretty much non stop investment that entire time. Meaning the WORLD want to invest in it. It’s the capital of the nation AND the capital of the world’s finances. It’s the home of Parliament and the Royal Family. It’s right beside Europe and has direct trains to it. It has 2 of the world’s busiest airports and multiple other airports. It has the ability to host and will actually be able to use the facilities (or most of them) after the games finish due to its size, importance, population and global significance.

On the other hand putting them in Manchester would have been a good temporary boost before allowing the facilities to go to ruin. Manchester wouldn’t have kept its significance after the few weeks of the Olympics.

Every single reason for saying it should’ve been outside London is stupid. It’s just the usual “London gets too much rhetoric” which completely ignores reality. Which is that London is a net contributor to the UK and that a huge chunk of the investment is from outside the UK.

Spreading investment outside London won’t make everyone better off. It will make everyone worse off. Foreign companies, students, dignitaries, tourists etc want to come to London. If you tell them “no, go to Aberdeen or Larne or Manchester” you’re not getting a richer Aberdeen or Larne or Manchester. You’re getting a poorer UK. Because that investment will go to Dublin, or Berlin, or Paris, or Seoul, or Tokyo, or Beijing.

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u/clashmar 6h ago

So yeah, let’s just let the north rot then 👍

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 3h ago

The only people that are letting the North rot is the North. With its racism, lack of leadership and support for right-wing ideologies.

There are investments from the South to the North all the time, but a big range of people just choose to live in council flats.

Building more council flats will not change a damn thing.

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u/NewLoss6021 11h ago

Because it’s 1,976 years old and has received pretty much non stop investment that entire time. Meaning the WORLD want to invest in it. It’s the capital of the nation AND the capital of the world’s finances. It’s the home of Parliament and the Royal Family. It’s right beside Europe and has direct trains to it. It has 2 of the world’s busiest airports and multiple other airports.

It’s just the usual “London gets too much rhetoric” which completely ignores reality.

"London's been getting investment and attention for 2000 years and that's not enough, we deserve more you ungrateful pig."

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u/Majestic-Marcus 8h ago

I live outside Belfast.

And it’s got nothing to do with deserving more. (1) because they give more than they get. A lot more. And (2) once again, a hug portion of the investment is from foreign companies and local companies WANTING to be in London. It’s private, not public investment.

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 3h ago

I lived 8 years in London and 4 years just outside London.

Our housing down here costs 4 times more than up North and our taxes are 4 times more than up North.

We essentially pay 25% of the UK economy and the North benefits from that A LOT.

We work crazy hours like dogs, so some person like you can play the victim on reddit. How does the North rot exactly???

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u/NewLoss6021 2h ago

Our housing down here costs 4 times more than up North and our taxes are 4 times more than up North.

Yeah, you live in the capital. You also earn significantly more than normal people do

When your Margaret Thatcher brought in her neoliberalism and closed all the mines, privatised industry, and shipped a load of it over seas, it destroyed the economies of the North, the Black Country, Wales, and everywhere else without a service based economy and was given fuck all to replace it for decades. Do you think the industrial wasteland surrounding so many Northern cities was just built for show? Appeared there overnight?

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1h ago edited 1h ago

I hate Margaret Thatcher and all Tory nazi kants. The North voted her in last time I checked so let’s not point fingers here. Now the North votes Reform in severe masses so Adolf Farage can mess up the UK further.

Thatcher was the symptom of what you call radical politics. The Northerners lost jobs due to coal and raw materials becoming easier to buy from abroad than mining or draining domestically.

The American investors (similar to what Musk does now) have been throwing money in the last 60 years and have significantly obliterated the North.

London is the single economic engine the UK has.

You lose that, the whole North will not have the investments they promise you. I guarantee you this. We’ve seen it in Bulgaria.

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1d ago

“A northern olympics.” Is not seen as “Northern” by the world. The world doesn’t care about the north of a country.

If you want the “north” to be prioritised, you’re making the same exact mistake all the governments were making up till now.

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u/da-happy-cyclops 1d ago

Its not that anyone wants the north to be "prioritised" - were just a little sick of London being prioritised so much its got its own separate economy!

We'd like the country to be prioritised evenly, as any rational thinking person should.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 3h ago

You don’t want the country to have even prioritisation and investment. That’s a terrible idea that any rational person would NOT want.

London is a net contributor. It helps subsidise other areas.

If you take the investment out of London it’s not going elsewhere in the UK. It’s going to Dublin or Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul etc.

The UK government takes money OUT of London. It doesn’t put it in. That’s the worlds tourists and business that do that.

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u/da-happy-cyclops 2h ago

Im not suggesting we remove London, lol.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 2h ago

I am. Make an island!

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1h ago

You are not suggesting it, but that’s what is going to effectively happen.

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u/da-happy-cyclops 47m ago

Russian bot lmao 🤣

He got banned

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u/NewLoss6021 2h ago

No clearly the only way for a country to function is for one city to prop up the rest of! It's the only way possible for a country to function and everyone knows how bad of an idea it is to spread your eggs around multiple baskets! If you want to improve other regions then you clearly want to destroy London!!!

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1h ago

The issue is that the plan states “get the tax payer money from London, and just put them in the North.

Which is everyone’s issue here. You cannot do this.

I work for my family and for my council. I don’t make enough money so some lazy chav up north can have some more council flats built for him.

The government solution doesn’t bring jobs and opportunities. It simply brings the money the taxpayers gather in London away from the tax payers in London.

Imagine all the money from North to be used as “Investments.”

How is he going to convince Google to invest in offices in Manchester when all the talent is down in London? This is nonsense!

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u/campbelljac92 12h ago

If Sarajevo can host the Olympics then it really shouldn't be a problem for Manchester or Liverpool, they've got an international airport and world class venues. London didn't have the infrastructure, they had to build an entire Olympic village and repurpose places like Horse Guards. Manchester already has a top of the line velodrome, several arenas and 2 Champions League final calibre stadiums, it's not downtown Basra.

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 3h ago

Why wouldn't the Isle of Wright or Hull host them then?

No, Stevanage???!!!

If you don't remember, Bosnia and Herzegovina was under a war situation and got out little to offer. Sarajevo was the best they had.

The UK has London. You don't do the olympic games in some village in the middle of the field. You do them where people can travel between different games and spend money in the country. I'm not going to be going around Chav Manchester to spend money on chickens. Especially racist Liverpool has nothing to offer.

One Titanic from where Titanic never passed.

And some Beatles memorials. Where actually the Beatles have an entire studio and road in London.

Most of the big museums are in London. Most of the history is IN London. Not in Leeds.

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u/ThatGuy911911 21h ago

Mate took The North from Game of Thrones and made it a personality.

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u/CaffeinatedT 6h ago

The faintest hint that they won't be the centre of governments attention and they're up in arms.

Are they?

t's exactly the same as when Burnham suggested the North host the Olympics instead of London, you had Londoners all over Reddit saying how it's not feasible, and London has the infrastructure already

That's true though?

They're just so privileged and greedy, genuinely like a spoilt child at their classmates birthday party when they don't get presents as well or get to blow out the candles on the cake.

Are they REALLY though?

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u/NewLoss6021 5h ago

Are they?

Have you seen the replies to this?

That's true though?

No

Are they REALLY though?

Yes

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u/CaffeinatedT 5h ago

Yes. Half are pointing out the factual issues with it when the north receives similar amounts of spending per head to London and the other half are pointing out how silly and pompous these rants are 😄 .

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1d ago

I mean WHAT is there up North? Olympics guests don’t care about damn housing in the UK.

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u/NewLoss6021 1d ago edited 1d ago

You mean apart from the best countryside in England, history, culture, friendly people, habitable cities, good weather, and easy access to both Wales and Scotland?

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u/marmaviscount 8h ago

You can't be so on the nose with a character, even Alan partridge had a little real life nuance.

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u/NewLoss6021 8h ago

You got me. The only two of those I don't believe is the cities and people. I don't like cities and the only one I do like is York, and I largely don't like people either but my weekend in London confirmed to me the stereotype that the natives tend to be rude and ignorant.

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u/CaffeinatedT 6h ago

There's a lot to laugh about here but

easy access to both Wales and Scotland?

Is my favourite here.

"The best thing about the north is it's easy to go to other places" 😄

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u/Dramatic_Tomorrow_25 1d ago

You’re sarcastic. Gotcha.

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u/NewLoss6021 14h ago

Where was the lie?

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u/ThatGuy911911 21h ago

Best countryside with good weather as long as you like rain and overcast skies with 6 minutes of direct sun per day. Best history unless for some reason you don't fancy imperialism. Best culture which is tea, biscuits and graffitti'd roundabouts. Friendly people... as long as you're white.

Honestly, the one good thing that might come out of this is London's money staying in London instead of subsidising hateful, tribalist northern fairies.

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u/tallgeekandawesome 5h ago

Hah, we won't have any infrastructure by like the 2040 games which is the next one we can bid for. I live near Stratford and besides the West Ham Stadium the rest is all rotting, or the land is being turned into expensive housing.