Coronavirus: Could London jobs go nationwide?

The coronavirus lockdown saw countless workers move out of offices and remote working become the norm. So will costly office space in the capital become a thing of the past? And could regional workers get a long-awaited chance to go for a London-based career without the expense?

Hannah Claytor-Scott admits that, in the past, she has felt drawn towards job-searching in the capital.

"When I was younger, I wanted to move there because there were so many interesting opportunities and I felt a kind of pull to what it offered culturally," she said.

Hannah, 29, is now happily settled in Newcastle-upon-Tyne where she works as a digital consultant. Her job normally takes her to London once or twice a month.

"I love travelling there," she said. "When I first started I really enjoyed it and I took the opportunity to go and see friends but the more you do it, the more tiring it gets.

"If I were considering career options, I would want to look at opportunities in London but see if I could negotiate something more flexible.

"For people in this area, I think the ideal mix would be the opportunities London offers with the affordable lifestyle on offer in the north-east. I would much rather live up here."

Hannah says some of her friends have grown frustrated while job-hunting as a result of so many opportunities being concentrated in London.

"Some have even considered going abroad so they can maintain a similar lifestyle and get the kind of opportunities on offer in London without the cost," she said.

"Obviously, not every industry would have the flexibility of home-working but I would hope it could have a positive impact if more people of a high calibre were happy to stay in the regions, that could only be a good thing."

Matt Blackwell spent two years making the 200-mile round trip between his home in Leicester and his job in London, five days a week.

When he became a sub-editor for a digital media company in 2016, he lacked the financial stability to move to the capital.

"I didn't have too much choice. Commuting was the only viable option," said Matt, 30.

"One of the biggest and most obvious negatives was the cost. An annual season ticket cost £9,000, which had to be paid upfront.

"My company covered the cost but I lost £750 from my salary each month in repayments."

Another negative, which Matt says he did not immediately consider, was the knock-on effect on his quality of life.

He said: "I would be out of the house from 07:30 to 20:00 every day, which meant I rarely had the time or energy for socialising outside of work. My evenings generally consisted of eating dinner and getting an early night, ready for the 06:00 alarm the next day."

Matt eventually moved to London in 2018 - he says he misses his family in the Midlands but feels "much happier".

However, he says it is "definitely frustrating" that people in some professions feel they have no alternative than to move - or commute - to London.

"In order to progress in certain industries, such as media and finance, I feel like you have to be in London because that's where the opportunities are," he said.

"I think one good thing to come out of the current situation is that companies are starting to realise that 'business as usual' doesn't necessarily mean everyone has to be in one place all of the time.

"Work can take place as usual pretty much anywhere where there's a decent Wi-Fi connection. Location shouldn't hold anyone back from following their chosen career path."

Working from home has saved single dad David Pentz a four-hour commute. The digital marketing director used to get up at 04:30 every morning and drive from Brackley in Northamptonshire to his company's office in the capital.

He and his colleagues have been told they won't be back there until at least 2021 and his hope is that once they are, he will only have to go in once or twice a week.

But, he believes working in a London office will still be essential to his job.

"We've been so busy and generating lots of business without being in the office," he said. "[But] I don't know if the London bubble has ended. I don't think it has - I think it's always going to have an office culture."

Regional politicians suggest otherwise. Ged Bell, Newcastle City Council's cabinet member for employment, believes London is becoming "less relevant".

"With a larger number of people working from home, bigger corporate firms are looking to ditch expensive office space and are contemplating a much larger talent pool," he said.

Mark Oakley, Leicester City Council's director of inward investment, said he hopes there will be more opportunities for people who don't want to commute or relocate.

"It's clear that there will be changes to the way people work that could see wealth and opportunity more fairly distributed around the country," he said.

However, business experts urge caution.

Will Rossiter, Nottingham Business School's associate professor of regional policy and development, believes "it's too early to say" how lockdown will affect businesses.

"We are shaping up to see a recession [which] tend to bear hardest on the most disadvantaged places. There will certainly be some firms wondering if they need expensive city centre offices," he said.

"And there is a lot of interest in the extent to which the experience of home-working will operate in the future. It's certainly possible some large organisations will think about the way they are organised in future.

"It's just hard to know how these trends will play out. I doubt a bit of remote working would go far enough to change what caused the North-South divide in the first place, such as the shift away from heavy industries."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].