That nice Mr Grayling will only know the facts that his civil servants set before him. And I can tell you from previous experiences years ago that the view is that the real England finishes at Watford, there is then somewhere known as the provinces, an industrial wasteland where people wear flat hats, speak with a funny accent and stuff ferrets down their trousers. Then comes the foreign lands of Wales and Scotland which can look after themselves - if we let them have a little money....
Perhaps in true Sir Humphrey style they are trying to get him to make an a*se of himself so they can get a new master - and if that is the case, they are doing spectacularly well
Although there is another school of thought that says Grayling is quite capable of making an a*se of himself on his own.
It would also seem that JH-K has some script writers who don't know the score.
But most readers won't know any better and will lap it up. That's what it is all about nowadays.