What worries me about such "naming and shaming" is that it makes the rest of the country feel smug and complacent. Not to emtnion that there are at least 18 different kinds of intelligence, most of which are not measured by the simplistic, food-for-the-brainless approach used by programmes like "Test the Nation" and such.

The fact remains that all the sad characteristics of Hull that you mentioned above are also to be found in ample supply in hundreds of other towns and cities. Hull may (or may not) be the biggest spot; but the whole country has the measles.