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In England, the term North–South divide refers to the cultural and economic differences between Southern England (the South-East, Greater London, the South-West and parts of the East) and Northern England (the North-East, West and Yorkshire and the Humber). The status of the Midlands is often disputed; geographically, most areas of the Midlands are more Southern than Northern. This ambiguity also applies to parts of East Anglia. In political terms, the South, and particularly the South-East (outside Greater London), is largely centre-right, and supportive of the Conservative Party, while the North (particularly the towns and cities) is generally more supportive of the Labour Party. An article in ''The Economist'' (15–21 September 2012) argued that the gap between the north and south in life expectancy, political inclinations and economics trends was growing to the extent that they were almost separate countries.〔 ==Existence== The North–South divide is not an exact line, but one that can involve many stereotypes, presumptions and other impressions of the surrounding region relative to other regions. The existence of the North–South divide is fiercely contested. Some sources claim that not only does it exist, but that it is expanding. For example, a 'Cambridge Econometrics' report of March 2006 found that economic growth above the UK average was occurring only in the South and South East of England, whilst North East England showed the slowest growth. The same data has been interpreted otherwise to indicate only a very small difference. Indeed, results are highly dependent on the categories chosen for evaluation. As a generalisation, the following tend to indicate that there is some sort of north-south divide: * Health conditions, which are generally seen as being worse in the north. though spending on health care is higher * House prices, which are higher in the south, particularly the south-east. * Earnings, which are higher in the south and east. * Government expenditure, which is higher relative to tax revenues in the North, but higher in key areas such as infrastructure investment in the South. * Political influence. However, when factors such as the cost of living or urban poverty are included, the divisions are sometimes less clear. Furthermore, many middle class and affluent areas are located near Leeds and Manchester. A report into wealth by Barclays Bank also highlighted the anomaly that the second-wealthiest parliamentary constituency after Kensington and Chelsea is Sheffield Hallam. Yorkshire and Cheshire, geographically part of ''The North'', include prosperous towns and suburbs such as Harrogate, Ilkley and Alwoodley in Yorkshire and Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and Chester in Cheshire. On the other hand, geographically southern areas such as the Isle of Thanet in Kent have struggled with the same industrial decline as parts of the north. Cornwall, many London boroughs such as Hackney and Haringey and southern towns like Luton are other anomalies to the North-South divide with poor health and education. This has led some commentators to suggest that other divisions, such as class or ethnicity might be more important. The Economist claims that one of the main causes of the divide was the migration of young professionals from the north to work in London, whereas it is much less common for young professionals from the south to move to a northern city.〔(The north of England: the great divide ), The Economist, 15–21 September 2012, volume 404, number 8802〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「North–South divide (England)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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