Johnny Marr: George Osborne should stop patronising Northerners

Manc musician Johnny Marr reckons George Osborne should stop treating Northerners like idiots.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his summer budget on Wednesday, and repeatedly referred to his vision of a 'Northern Powerhouse'. Osborne coined the term to describe the devolution of powers to local authorities in the north, subject to an elected mayor. Manchester is at the forefront of the planned devolution, hence the term 'Devo Manc'. The city will elect its first democratic mayor in 2017. Marr, one of Manchester's favourite musical sons, has dismissed the term and sentiments as hollow politicking. "Do Cameron and Osborne actually think that people in the north are OK with the term ‘Northern Powerhouse?’," he tweeted. "Patronising and thick or what?" https://twitter.com/Johnny_Marr/status/618753668469424128 It's not the first time that Marr has voiced his chagrin at senior Tories. The Ex-Smiths guitarist famously told David Cameron to stop liking the Mancunian band's music. In fairness to Cameron, he probably meant the Cure but had another brain fade.