Tories Apologise to the North? No Way!

ConservativeHome, the leading grass roots Conservative website, has an interesting post today:

Should the Conservative Party apologise to the North?

It's interesting that Michael Gove and Alan Duncan believe that we should say 'sorry for the pain that was caused' to the North due to Thatcher's economic policies.

As a Northern Tory activist I welcome most Conservative Party efforts to make headway in the North, but this suggestion by ConservativeHome and the Southern MPs mentioned above is patronising and absurd. Thatcher turned the North from a state-dependent, inefficient industrial area into a shining beacon of redevelopment. And, I mean that; Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Newcastle are all world-class cities; centres of business and culture. That was the result of Thatcher's economic policies in the North - not some left-wing babble summed up in Billy Elliot. Yes, the mining communities suffered high unemployment and social problems, but it's time to understand that those effects were necessary in order to make way for today's prosperity (they were, of course, exacerbated by the Unions themselves).

The greatest gift the Conservatives can give to the North now is not a feeble apology - but real conservatism. By that, I mean grammar schools, respect (for the police) and a wealth-inducing economy. The North has suffered for too long under the iron grip of socialism - it's time for the Conservatives to look back at their treatment of the North with pride. There should be no apology.