Piltdown man does have a point though. Without causing to much upset I hope:
1. Locals from the North East are some of the most insular people I have ever met. Some have never even visited Hadrians wall. How can you expect locals to advertise the region when they don't even know it themselves.
2. Ask any business person who has had to deal with local businesses and local government and they will say that most locals they have worked with are very thin skinned and cannot accept constructive criticism.
3. They are nepotistic to the extent a local will be employed over an outsider even if their skill set is not as good.
But what do you expect from a region that has over 50 percent of people working for the state.