Empty shops, boarded up buildings, few jobs.
Sound familiar?
The Brexit vote which saw most of the United Kingdom that wasn't the Home Counties or Scotland vote leave has parallels here.
As the enormity of the European Union exit decision sinks in, the neglect and despair in regions outside London and the wealthy south has become clear. News reporters who have headed north from the capital found good reasons why people felt they could get change through leaving the 28-country bloc.
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Advertise with NZME.A reporter In Hull described a rundown city which voted 68 per cent to leave. The fishing industry was gone and it took two weeks to get to see a doctor, people said.
Some of the leave vote objections were just blatant racism but many have justified fears that they are missing out, and become the forgotten lands of a country that has the second largest economy in the EU after Germany.
Provincial people in New Zealand don't have a vote to leave of course. But politicians should be aware the same feeling is abroad in parts of the country. The northward drift of money, jobs and emphasis is debilitating. Accelerate 25 Regional Growth study, the Government's move to address regional development, is a start.
But the hits keep coming.
For instance Whanganui people for instance are left wondering if Air Chathams had not stepped in, would we simply have had no air service here?
There were many reasons for the Leave vote, and Regrexit is now gaining momentum. Even if Britain remains, there are issues highlighted that British politicians need to deal with that have echoes here.
