Mr. Brian McCrory:

The reasons for the decline are different. Much of what happened in the North by way of decline has been caused by uncertainty, that is, economic uncertainty, the fragility of the market and at one stage there was the threat of the withdrawal of British Government funding. Much of the North's employment base is, essentially, Government-funded. Had that funding gone, peoples' job security and associated securities would have disappeared with it. There was a reluctance to borrow, and following the financial crisis, there was a tendency for people to consolidate their household moneys and to reduce their outgoings. Given the current uncertainties over Brexit, that is unlikely to change any time soon.