For such a small area, The United Kingdom harbours many regional stereotypes. Some beliefs about people from certain regions are held only by those of neighbouring towns and cities, while others¹ span the length and breadth of the nation.

England

The Greath North/South Divide

As illustrated in the 1998 film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, there is a "Northern Monkey / Southern Fairy" divide within England. Broadly speaking, the people of the north are perceived by their southern cousins as being uncivilised, while the people of the north view southerners as being soft, perhaps decadent pansies².

There is also an economic divide between North and South, with the south (particularly around London), being perceived as rich, and the north, especially in areas where the local economy relies heavily on primary and secondary industry (acquisition of raw materials, manufacturing, etc), as being poor. Prime Minister Tony Blair stated in 1999 that there existed no such divide, and that the only social divide was purely based in economics rather than geography, when he went on a two day tour of the north west of England. Statistics, however, are not always on his side. This graph shows the difference in price of property in York, Yorkshire and London. At the time of writing, the average house in London will cost you almost twice what you would've paid out in York. If you're looking for a detatched house in London, the average cost is £724,374, compared to a mere £156,431 in York. Comparing London to a larger city in the north with more in the way of tertiary industry, you might expect the gap to narrow, but this comparison with Manchester appears to show the opposite, with the avergae home in London currently costing over three times that of a Manchester home.

The other puzzling thing about the great north south divide, is that nobody really knows exactly where the divide is supposed to be. The Midlands may be a logical place to draw the line, but others will tell you that The Watford Gap³ is the divide.

Cockneys

Cockneys, the natives of East London, are famous for two things; their rhyming slang⁴, and for the TV soap-opera Eastenders.

Essex

Public opinion has not been kind to the inhabitants of Essex. The main evidence of this is the Essex Girl Joke. These are very popular in England, and generally suggest that women from Essex are of a somewhat loose moral standing. Other jokes hint at them not being particularly intelligent, and are generally the same jokes that are told across the world, but with "Essex Girl" subsituted for "Blonde". This BBC News Report describes a calendar which illustrates the stereotypical Essex slapper⁵. Need a bit more info here, especially on Essex Boys - something more than just the XR3i with fluffy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror.