Isnt there a case to be made that people shopping in the North actually help the ROI in terms of giving us a wake-up call, showing us how uncompetitive we are.
All this blather from the government about getting back to competitiveness, shoppers going North is just a visible example of what is surely happening internationally - i.e. a multi-national looks at us, sees that our cost base is too high notwithstanding our low corporation tax rate, and chooses to go elsewhere.
Protectionist policies only add another layer to the bubble & wont stop those inside it perishing (... not to overdramatise like ....).
Good point but retailing is a very competitive sector. Our cost base has more to do with property costs (and all that goes with it) and Benchmarking etc.