Moderator: Sue Stirling's previous article provoked some heated discussion and debate - this her a response.

Sue Stirling (Newcastle, ippr north): It's always nice to see a blog piece inspire so much debate and while I can't possibly answer all questions I would like to focus on a few key points, especially the economic conditions within England. There is an unacceptably wide gap in wealth between the North and the rest of the country, broadly speaking.

I have no desire to define how authentic the English regions are or are not. Even if they are entirely fabricated, is it really a reason to ignore them as potential engines of development? Many of the socio-economic reasons behind North/South disparities cannot be tackled at local or national level, but can be done so at regional.

England is too big to be treated in a homogenous way, Italy and France have realised that regions work, and we must accept that no other country in Europe is so centralised.