I think that the problem is with our mindset. Let's not think about just connecting places to London.
Supposing you live in the village of Nawton in North Yorkshire. There's not much in Nawton, save for some eateries and pubs, a church, a primary school and a car dealer, so you often have to travel elsewhere.
The nearest town to you is Helmsley. Helmsley has a few amenities; a Co-op, a branch of Barclays, a few touristy shops (there's an Edinburgh Woollen Mill even here), cafés, restaurants, a bookshop, a Thomas the Baker (lucky you!), a cheese shop, a few pubs, a church, even a Fat Face for those with big pockets. But there isn't a doctor's surgery or a post office. So you drive along the road to...
Kirkbymoorside. Now, there are a few shops in Kirkbymoorside. Once again, there's a Co-op, but with a SPAR, a Surgery, a Post Office, a Library, two churches, a pet shop, a Quaker society, some pubs and eateries, a music shop, a music school, an ATM, a DIY shop, you get the idea. But there are some things that you can't get in Kirkbymoorside, so you continue along the A170 to Pickering.
Pickering is much larger. It has a lot of the things that Kirkbymoorside has, like a library, and much more of them, too. And it also has different things, like a museum, a heritage railway and a fish shop. And other things, too. That's not the point. This isn't the Yellow Pages. Even after you've bought your cod and chips, you are still not contented. Neither of Pickering's Co-operative Food stores will alleviate your need for a larger supermarket. So you get in your car and drive down to Malton.
Malton and neighbouring Norton-on-Derwent together have around double the population of Pickering. They also have both a Morrisons and an ASDA. There's a choice of banks, a choice of pharmacies, a choice of bakers (Thomas and Coopland's - a tough choice...), a museum, and a cinema. There's a saddlery, a branch of Costa Coffee so that you can catch up with your Caramel Latte Frostino needs, and even a shop dedicated to cricket equipment - this is Yorkshire after all. Norton and Malton both have libraries, and there's a railway station on the Leeds-Scarborough line between the two. There's a gym in Norton - complete with swimming pool. But what if there you need to buy things that Malton and Norton - shock - don't have? There's only one thing for it. You're going to have to head into the Big City.
YORK. York has shopping centres, coffee shops, clothes shops galore. It has six branches of Thomas the Baker. It even has a Disney Store, hooray! It has a Betty's, a Sports Direct, a McDonald's, and a theatre. And it also has a large railway station, next to an even larger railway museum. York has churches galore. It even has a Minster. For Nawton, this is the Big City, the regional hub, the city to suit your every need and whim. London? Maybe an annual day-trip to show the kids. Or maybe you could go to Edinburgh, which you can from here just as easily.
OK, do you see the point of that now? Truth is, everywhere in the UK has a different regional hub. Supposing you lived in Nawton, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, or any of those places. Would London really be that important for you in day-to-day life?