Barry Sheerman: Southerners are "parasites" who live off the efforts of the north

People in the South of England “live parasitically” on the efforts of the North, a Labour MP has claimed.

Veteran Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman raised a few eyebrows with his impassioned appeal in the Commons over the Northern Powerhouse.

Mr Sheerman urged the Government to “stop patronising” people over its Northern Powerhouse project.

Speaking during Communities and Local Government questions in the House of Commons, the MP said: “Will this Government stop patronising the North? We are a powerhouse.

“Give us the investment, give us the investment in infrastructure.

“We are the people that still make things in this country. We make the wealth of this country and many of the people in this part of the world - London, the South - live parasitically on our efforts.

“Stop patronising, start investing.”

The Government’s Northern Powerhouse minister, James Wharton, responded: “I welcome your enthusiasm for the Northern Powerhouse as a project.

“This Government is recognising the potential that the North has to drive our economy, the difference that the North can make if it is invested in, and crucially, if people in the North are given real control over their own future.

“That is what we are doing.”