North south divide: Child of the North report ought to cause national outrage - but it will not

Certainly this newspaper in recent years has not been shy in coming forwards to point out to policy-makers the ever-burgeoning north-south divide and the impact that has on people living here in Yorkshire.

It is no secret that life-expectancy in the north falls short of the south and though this is a place with myriad reasons to be optimistic - from the glorious open spaces to world-class universities - it would be remiss of us all to turn a blind eye to structural inequalities.

Remiss further would it be to ignore those injustices when it comes to children in the foothills of their lives, being held back by forces they do not recognise until their life-chances have fallen behind others simply by virtue of their postcode.

Yet, today’s report by Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group exposes precisely that it is the case - where you’re born pre-determines your prospects in life.

It is a detailed piece of work that ought to spark national outrage, yet so accustomed have we become to the haves living in the south and the have-nots living in the north that reports like this evaporate into the ether and life goes on.

It goes on with children – who, it must be said, this newspaper does not begrudge a penny – being invested in more generously in and around the capital, to the tune of hundreds of pounds per pupil, than our children receive.

It is high time the leaders of this country, using as a starting point the evidence presented to them in this report, came up with a plan for the north and its children for it is already too late.