Hold the front page. The Guardian may have just had its best idea in decades. According to the Times, brains at the Grauniad are pondering moving the paper’s offices back to Manchester in an attempt to save money. Senior executives at Guardian Media Group are said to have held ‘top secret’ talks about moving the newspaper’s headquarters from north London back to its birthplace in Manchester — where the main office was until 1964.
Given that the paper is on track to burn through another £90m in cash this year, it makes sense to cut costs where it can. But that’s not the reason Mr S is so behind the move. Since the paper’s leading columnists have written so feverishly about the Brexit divide — and the need to fight the xenophobia that led many to vote Leave in Brexit areas, this presents the perfect opportunity for hacks to heal the great North/South divide.
No doubt Polly Toynbee will jump at the chance to take a break from the Tuscan sun and be closer to the communities neighbouring Manchester that voted for Brexit — especially given that she previously called on MPs for Brexit-voting electorates to ignore the result and vote against Article 50:
‘They “respect” the result of the referendum, they repeat nervously. Why? It was a consultative vote that failed to define Brexit on what terms, with what sacrifices or at what price.’
Meanwhile, Owen Jones — who grew up in Stockport — can help tame the ‘Ukip beast of the North’ that he has warned readers about previously. What’s more, Simon Jenkins will definitely be pleased — he previously called for Parliament to move to Manchester:
With the MP for Tatton — and new Evening Standard editor — becoming rather London-centric of late, it’s good to see one newspaper is taking the Tories’ Northern Powerhouse seriously…
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