London plays a crucial economic, political and cultural role in the UK. It is home to one of the world’s busiest financial centres, the royal family, parliament and some of the best museums on the planet.

But that domination has come at a cost. To many living outside it, London has become more of a distant city-state than a capital, increasingly disconnected from the rest of the country. In the devolved nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, voters can elect representatives who put their countries first.

Londoners sometimes argue they deserve a special deal. After all, London paid an average of £12.7bn a year more in taxes than it received in public spending in the decade up to 2014, subsidising most of the rest of the country. And while life in London might be easy for the oligarchs who have bought up Mayfair, it is a struggle for many.

Yet while rail passengers in the north of England and Cornwall still judder to work on 35-year-old Pacer trains, Londoners will soon be able to get around even quicker on the £17.6bn Crossrail.

This series explores how the rest of England has been left behind. It will expose how some of the poorest people pay the most for public transport, the north-south divide in health and how cultural institutions have been ravaged by cuts. Finally, it will look at the case for more devolution in England and ask what can be done to bring the country back together at a time when it has never seemed more divided. Helen Pidd

