Congratulations to the Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, and commiserations to the city itself which has only had the benefit of his presence for just over a year.

His promotion to the Archbishopric of Canterbury is a reminder of the strength of the north within Anglicanism's high councils, a tradition which goes back to such glories as the Synod of Whitby and the 'Four Cs' saints, Cedd, Chad, Caelin and Cynebal, linked with Lastingham in North Yorkshire.

The second most eminent figure in the church, the Archbishop of York, forms a fine example of an inclusive arrangement, overriding or at least easing, north-south tensions and inequalities in a way which the secular world should copy. That has seldom been more highlighted than by the current resident at Bishopthorpe, John Sentamu, whose presence we are mightily relieved to retain.

Dr John Sentamu. Happy to keep you in the north. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

It might be invidious to single out others from our many bishops but it is interesting to note that the engaging and lively Stephen Platten, Bishop of Wakefield, shares Welby's pre-ordination experience in the oil industry.

He worked for Shell in the late 1960s and retains great enthusiasm for the company's famous Shell Guides to various parts of the UK. He sits on the Heritage Shell Guides Trust which in April startled the world by finally publishing William Glossop's take on West Yorkshire which was first commissioned in 1974.

Churchgoers will expect good things of Welby, but everyone can pause for a moment to admire the Church of England as a fine example of non-metropolitanism. It is true that the Archbishop of Canterbury must perforce spend time at Lambeth Palace, and Church House needs shifting from Westminster to Liverpool or Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but how good it is that the twin centres of this genuinely national institution are in Canterbury and York.

Let us think of others. Oxford and Cambridge universities. Sandhurst military academy. Great hospitals across the country. Daresbury science park. The Co-Op in Manchester.

The bloated cuckoo-like nature of London can sometimes convince even the lightest-hearted that it has to be the centre of everything that matters. Not so. Let's get the post-Leveson media regulators to be based in MediaCityUK at Salford; and if you have other suggestions, please add them in any thread of comments which may develop from this.