Northern Independence

Northern independence is the broad term used to describe the wish for secession, from England, of its Northern Counties (those northern parts of England in the North-South divide in the United Kingdom ).
History of Autonomy/secession movement
The North of England has traditionally had a distinct culture separate to the south. One of the first bodies formed to address local autonomy issues and greivances was the "Council of the North" formed in 1988. This was in response to the taking over of Rowntree by the Swiss firm, Nestle. This Council had last met in the 17th century to deal with the chaos of the English civil war. The council met, and while it was attended by noted businessmen and politicians, little came of it and the movement petered out. .
The more recent push for Scottish independence has had its affect on the North of England, with the 2004 North East England devolution referendum held in order to decide whether to establish a parliament for the North. . This has partly been spurred on by the feeling that London and the south are culturally different to the North. , with some commentary stating that the "real" English are seen as the South There are also concerns that if Scotland was to become independent, then economic factors associated with this would negatively affect the North, with industry/investment going to Scotland. Establishing a separate country or autonomous region is seen by some as a way to stop this. . Economically, North Eastern Businesses have called for greater control over the region's financial affairs . However, despite these sentiments, the 2004 referendum for more autonomy was convincingly rejected, with a voter turnout of 45%. 2015 saw a petition for part of the North to secede and join Scotland gain 28,000 signatures.
The movement
In 2014. the people within the North of England indicated in a survey by the BBC that there was a greater wish for devolution of some powers at least. The survey indicated that 85% of people in the North wanted control of policing, taxation and education handed over to the region There is also a percieved continuing widening of the North South divide, which continues to highlight the issue to people living in the North . Various parties have been formed to test the issues in elections, including the North East Party in 2014, the Northern Party in 2015 , and in 2020 a new party, the Northern Independence Party(NIP). The NIP was formed in order to test the 2024 elections, its goal being to establish an independent country in the North of England, based on historic Northumbria. While the NIP have nominated York as its capital, . Manchester and Liverpoool have also been raised as options
The Yorkshire Party looks specifically at the issue of a devolved assembly for Yorkshire. Government polioy relating to the 2020 epedemic also created tension between the North and the UK Government, which gave rise to some discusson of a separate region as a way of giving more say to the area

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