Good news for fans of moving government agencies out of London.
DfT has published the shortlist of those towns and cities bidding to host the new HQ of Great British Railways.
No great surprises, although the omission of Darlington, Swindon and anywhere in Scotland may raise some eyebrows? The astute will already have noticed that locations in Wales were entirely absent from the 42 that made the original longlist.
Here is Eye's cut out and keep guide to the shortlisted locations:
- Birmingham - already home to the HQ of NR's North West and Central Region, HS2 and parts of DfT. Not so much levelling up as dosing Andy Street on amphetamines. Not Derby
- Crewe - definitely the right number of letters but sadly spelt all wrong. Not Derby.
- Derby - Heart of the Railway, right number of letters and in the correct order. The centre of Europe's largest cluster of rail supply chain businesses. Very good, carry on.
- Doncaster - starts off well with the correct letter of the alphabet, but then goes rapidly downhill from there. Not Derby
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne - really, I mean really? Far too many letters, some nice bridges mind. Not Derby
- York - Famed for being home to lots of old stuff and also the HQ of NR's Eastern Region. Did nobody read the brief about moving away from established NR culture. Also Not Derby.
Psephologists will now be studying Tory marginal seats backing each location...
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