It's not grim up north (Part 2)

In our work for Liverpool City Council, we make sure that this city gains the maximum amount of exposure across the country.

We want to tell the story of Liverpool's transformation, from down and out in the eighties to cultural powerhouse of the new millennium.

And crucially, we want people to know that Liverpool's regeneration has only just begun and that the future holds even more from Merseyside.

Often, the city expects no favours from a national media which can fall back on the easy stereotypes of yesteryear.

But least of all did we expect southern 'intellectuals' to do our job for ourselves with an astonishing attack on our regeneration plans.

Tim Leunig et al's preposterous attack on the city, accusing Liverpool of losing its 'raison d'etre' is naked opinionating under the cloak of academic rigour.

Roundly booed in all corners for 'idiocy', 'stupidity', 'barminess', the Stalinesque plan to move large swathes of northern England appears crazy in the extreme.

Indeed, news of a wholescale retreat from this part of the world to the economic barricades of the south is premature.

If they looked a little bit closer, they would find people like Peter Nichols, a high flyer with our clients Rensburg Sheppards in this fair city, who tells the Daily Post how he moved from the City of London to pursue his career here.

He, like me, knows there's more to Liverpool then Leunig's glib analysis - a critical mass of professional jobs, business networks, culture, housing and transport to name but a few.

This whole episode has the welcome effect of putting the spotlight on this city - and I'm proud to say we are in a position where we don't need to meekly accept this criticism, but actively defend ourselves and turn it into a positive impression.

Borrowing a management-speak cliché, Liverpool has an 'open door' policy. You're all welcome.

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