Place resentment in England: measurement and effects

Despite globalization, geographic attachments remain alive and well and animate the politics of many democracies. While such divides stem partially from the relative proportions of different types of people who live in different types of places (i.e. so-called “compositional effects”), it's also true that place identities and related attitudes exert a significant force on political opinions and behaviour. In the United States, for example, place-based resentments stemming from politicized rural and urban identities are key to that country's “urban/rural divide”. In England, the politically relevant symbolic geographies include both regional (Northern vs. Southern) and centre vs. periphery (London vs. elsewhere) dimensions. In this article, we explore these place-based dynamics of contemporary English public opinion, generally finding that both regional and centre/periphery resentments are widespread. However, our evidence suggests that northern resentment of the south has more consequences for voting patterns than other resentments. We also find centre/periphery dynamics less politically relevant than the regional divide. In all, our study provides compelling evidence that place divisions within the United Kingdom and the resentments undergirding them are worthy of further scholarly attention.