The big North v South divide

Every Londoner is fiercely partisan about their own side of the river. The thick blue ribbon of the Thames has long divided the capital into competing halves.

Yesterday, the Evening Standard previewed the new Michelin pub guide, which showed that the north has more and better gastropubs.

Today, we take the debate further, with a fascinating selection of facts and figures illustrating the difference between south and north in 21st century London.

True, pub food might be better north of the river but state and private education is better in the south. The north boasts some superlative theatres, the Almeida and Hampstead to name but two. But the south has the Globe and Greenwich.

The north has Hampstead Heath, with its unique bathing ponds. But Brixton has the perennially popular lido. Where the north has the new Wembley stadium and Lord's cricket ground, the south has Wimbledon and the Oval. Arsenal and Tottenham? Millwall and Charlton, say southerners.

Crime may be slightly higher in the south, but hardly enough to justify a refusal to cross the river. Indeed some crimes, like rape and burglary, are more frequent in the north. Meanwhile the DLR, Jubilee line and Croydon Tramlink are making travel in the south - once the poor relation - easier than it has ever been.

The divide between north and south is shrinking. Gentrification has narrowed the property divide, while gun crime and drugs have united parts of north and south in misery.

Like upstart cousins, the SW and SE postcodes are racing hard to catch their once-superior relatives.

Anyone who still cries "I'm not going south of the river Guv," is simply missing out on what the other London has to offer.