Hartlepool: the coalface of change
This is the third in a series of chapters being released one by one, culminating in a full report on jobs and business across Britain that will come out in October.
Read the full report Hartlepool: the coalface of change
Hartlepool: The Coalface of change takes a deep dive into a coastal community with comparisons made with two other coastal communities, Cromer and Redcar.
Hartlepool was an interesting area of study due to the long history of the town, some of the atypical aspects of it as a coastal community (while still facing several of the most common issues facing towns by the sea in Britain), and how interesting the place is in a political context.
Having been a Labour held seat essentially since 1964 (when it was known as “The Hartlepools”), the Conservative party won the seat in 2021 by-election – yet it is once again a Labour seat. Redcar, which is only twelve miles away, offers an interesting insight into the similarities and differences we see there as compared to Hartlepool, in addition to being politically interesting in and of itself: it is one of the few seats in Britain to have had a Labour, Lib Dem and Tory MP within the last twenty years.
Cromer was chosen as a comparator because while it is very geographically removed from Hartlepool and Redcar, many of the same problems it faces are similar. One of the themes of this report is that coastal towns should not be simply roped into whatever area of the country they sit in, be it the North East of England or East of England, but rather should be considered within a “coastal communities” context, that being a unique set of challenges.
Our next report will focus on the rural economy, through the lens of a particular county. Following that, a master report which will bring together the lessons learned from a cross-section of the country. This final document will cover what businesses are doing to alleviate poverty via best practice in terms of hiring, training and apprenticeships, what institutions are helping businesses along this journey (and what is missing from that equation), all demonstrating that business is a societal good.
Read the full report Hartlepool: the coalface of change