We British have many favourite debates. Whether Yorkshire puddings have any place on a Christmas dinner. Which band was better, Blur or Oasis? And how do you pronounce the word ‘scone’? One of the most hotly debated, however, is where the north of England begins. The divide between the north and south reaches far beyond whether you prefer Coronation Street or EastEnders.

And where does the Midlands fit in to this?

Figures released by pollster YouGov suggest that 25% of English adults believe the Midlands to be a part of the North, while at least 7 percent think it’s in the South.

People in the South East were most likely to believe the region containing Birmingham was in the North, while those in the North East tended to locate it in the lower part of the country. But the majority of people (62-65 percent) in the poll of 8,000 said the Midlands was part of neither the North or South. And Midlanders themselves? They were also most likely to say their region was part of neither, although 19 percent of people in the East Midlands and 16 percent in the West Midlands agreed with the North.

Participants were shown a map with all nine English regions marked out but unlabelled. They were then asked to identify whether each region was part of the North of the country, the South, or neither.

There was much stroking of chins over the East of England. While 57 percent put it in the South, 4 percent put it in the North. More than a third said it was part of neither and 4 percent didn’t know. Three of the six counties that make up the region are considered to be part of the South East.

So that’s that debate decided then. Or not. Perhaps we might have more luck deciding which is best: ale or lager?