Building railways and houses is one way to generate wealth across the nation but technology is probably better at refreshing the parts other initiatives cannot reach
As the Labour Party conference puts away it’s bucket and spade and departs Brighton and the south coast it was the ebb and flow of opinions about the perceived North/South divide which struck me most about this year’s seaside gathering.
Ed Balls began the week questioning whether funds for the HS2 rail link could be better spent elsewhere on housing and Harriet Harmon harped on about the need for a cost benefit analysis on the super-fast, super-costly project. Meanwhile, Maria Eagle reinforced Labour’s commitment to the scheme. But they have all got it wrong? Narrowing the wealth gap and closing the North/South divide is not a really a physical or geographical challenge. It is technology which will make the difference and close these so-called economic gaps – not billions of pounds on rolling stock. The way to connect the country rests in the cloud – and I don’t mean more internal flights.