Where does 'The North' end and 'The South' start? And where exactly is 'The Midlands'? It's a question that has got UK Twitter users' heckles up after a map showing the dividing line went viral.
The map shows The South starting around Northampton,. while The Midlands stretches all the way above the likes of Liverpool, Manchester and Hull, squeezing The North between just above Leeds to the Scottish border, reports Birmingham Live.
Social media user Michelle Bayly tweeted the map out, saying: "It’s really annoying seeing The North such and such company or something artsy North and for it to be in Birmingham etc. There’s also a middle… the midlands. Be the midlands. North of London doesn’t mean North."
The map sparked off a storm of comments, with many people sharing their own definitions. Michelle added: "After deep thought and consultation I have decided to scrap my map of North, Middle and South and instead go with the popular opinion that if you have gravy on chips or scraps and mushy peas with fish and chips then you are Northern and if not then not (no matter the geography)"
Jordan BHX replied: "As someone from Birmingham I can assure you that there is nothing branded as ‘North’ here, we don’t even get an ‘x Midlands’, and we very much want to be Midlands but both northerners and southerners tend to deny the Midlands exists so this map is welcome."
Economically, the North-South divide is often cited my experts, who regularly leave out the Midlands altogether. The Centre for Cities charity found that for every 12 jobs created bertween 2004 and 2015 in southern cities, only one was created in cities elsewhere.
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Ode said: "Lol imagine complaining that Londoners don’t know where the north is and then putting out a map that puts Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield in the midlands, incredible stuff." Ast fumed: "No!?? Manchester and Liverpool and Blackpool and Sheffield too … are NOT the sodding Midlands. Just ask the people from there… they’re Northerners … from the north. Not the midlands or south or Scotland."
Jack said: "I think it should broadly correspond to Welsh dividing lines between North Wales/ Mid Wales/ South Wales. I'm from south Leeds so understandably concerned about getting my 'northern' citizenship stripped." Lauren said: "Born and bred Midlander here and I slightly agree, but think the North starts a little lower to include Liverpool, Manchester etc. The Midlands is more wide I’d say :)"
A said: "You can't cut Yorkshire in half! And Manchester/Liverpool are definitely northern too. Move the 'north' line down to go through Sheffield and it's about right."
