And this is a surprise?

Hull's economic recovery 'will be slower'

Researchers say Hull could be left behind other cities as the UK comes out of recession.

A report by think tank Centre for Cities suggests a lack of private sector businesses in the city, in comparison to other areas, could mean Hull experiences a "second-wave recession".

And this, dear readers, is what happens when you have the big government mentality that vast numbers of people being dependant on the state for their income is a good thing. The state rightly provides a safety net in the form of various benefits to avoid people "falling through the cracks". The Conservatives are a party who value aspiration and people working, because then more people will start to appreciate conservative policies since they will want to enjoy as many of the fruits of their labour as possible. On the other hand, Labour are best served by people being dependent on them for their income on the principle of turkeys rarely voting for Christmas.

So then, we have a choice between two parties. Both want to increase their number of votes and therefore have policies to do so. One the one hand we have the Conservatives who want to make people richer and more self-reliant so that they will vote Conservative. On the other hand we have Labour who want to make people more reliant on the state so that they will vote Labour. I know which choice I would prefer!