I agree with most of what Helen Pidd had to say about London (How the north of England got its groove back, 18 May). But when she was describing the beam in Londoners’ eyes, she was overlooking the mote in her own. Despite the cosmetic references to other cities and towns, she seems only really interested in bigging up Manchester. The UK is overcentralised and many national institutions and services need to be spread around the country. Building up Manchester as a secondary capital won’t solve that problem, it will exacerbate the existing one. You have only to look at the BBC in Salford for an example of this. Programme-makers there seem unable to travel more than six miles from Piccadilly Gardens when they feel the need to get the views of the British public.

Gerry McMulllan

Birmingham

• Helen Pidd is right to point out that the transport secretary is shelling out extra money for Crossrail in London while cancelling electrification of key northern rail lines. She could have added that the government is about to pour more money into London and the south-east when parliament votes on a third runway at Heathrow next month.

Christina Smyth

London

• Helen Pidd, like so many people in the media, portrays England as being composed of only two regions; the north (poor but friendly) and the south (wealthy and unfriendly). The south of England goes all the way to Penzance, which is far more remote from London than Manchester or Sheffield. Manchester is different from Newcastle, as is Reading from Plymouth. There are wealthy and arrogant people everywhere, just as there are poor and well-meaning people everywhere.

Roger Gilford

Calstock, Cornwall

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