Ian Paul Politics Producer, BBC South

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Leafy, fertile South - losing out?

The Disadvantaged South - yes, you are reading that correctly. We are talking about the disadvantaged South.

It seems counter intuitive, somehow, but politicians are now arguing that we are losing out because of where we live.

Are we Southerners the victims of our region's success? Are the people who benefit are all living up North?

It is an unusual twist on the North South divide.

First there are the quality-of-life issues, that we can all relate to:

• the higher cost of housing
• the higher costs of the daily commute
• the overload on the infrastructure that can make that daily commute a ghastly torture.

A lot of that is caused by too many people wanting to live in the same area - point one for the victims-of-our-success argument.

In this case, we are too successful at attracting people to live here.

Then there are the government's plans to relocate civil servants away from the South.

It may seem laudable in principle, but it is the practice that causes problems.

There are plans to relocate jobs in the Office for National Statistics from Titchfield, Hampshire, to South Wales.

But as local MP, Mark Hoban argues on the Politics Show, it is an area where there are no alternative jobs for the workforce to go to.

And anyway, they have worked out that the staffing costs will be higher in South Wales than they are here.

Statistical evidence

According to Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, Leader of Kent County Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association, government expenditure per person is 25% higher in the North East than the South East.

He claims, that in social services Kent received �365 per elderly person in 2003, whereas Middlesbrough got �520.

He also points to the fact that Government help for 'neighbourhood renewal' is �1.28 per head in Kent and �47 for the North East.

It certainly does not sound equitable, does it?

Funding crisis?

Conservative councillor Kevin Lynes represents the Sherwood Estate in Tunbridge Wells.

"One tends to think of Tunbridge Wells as being sort of the last bastion of Conservatism," he says.

"Sherwood is particularly atypical.

"We have numerous problems and we have the second worst ward in Kent for child poverty.

"In trying to get hold of funding to benefit people here we tend to find that the doors shut when you say that such a deprived ward is in prosperous Tunbridge Wells."

Or take the lottery. As far as the South is concerned, it probably would not be you!

The Lottery handed out grants in the South East between 1995 and 2002 equivalent to �121 per head.

In the North East it was �239 per head.

Yet in the last four years our population has grown by nearly 2%, whilst theirs has declined by just over 1%.

It is tough down South, seems to be the message.

But are we getting a fair deal?

Let us know what you think.

Politics Show

Watch Politics Show, with presenter Peter Henley, on BBC One on Sunday, 17, October at 12.30pm.

click here to view the Politics Show South

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