The revival of British towns should be a cross-party mission

British towns face myriad challenges and we need a national agenda to overcome them. We represent different parties, and will disagree on much of what a vision for a prosperous Britain would look like. But our constituencies of Mansfield and Wigan face a common struggle, and so far it has not been met with effective solutions. Successive governments have failed to revive the jobs, high streets and public services to ensure our communities thrive. It has led to a politics of turbulence as the voiceless find a voice. We must listen—and secure a bright future for our constituents.

A thriving community with everything it needs to support its citizens would have little trouble retaining a young workforce. But our towns are aging. In recent decades, as industrial jobs have been lost and investment and opportunities concentrated in cities, young people have left the communities they grew up in and often will never return. Towns like ours have lost much of their working age population and spending power and consequently pubs, banks, bus services and high street shops. We face an acute loneliness challenge as a result of our older populations. The inability to find a cross-party consensus on social care is felt here first and foremost.

Centre for Towns research demonstrates the extent of the challenge. Wigan’s overall population declined by 2.4 per cent between 1981 and 2011; with a 21.5 per cent decline in 16-24 year-olds but an increase of 20.5 per cent in over-65s. Mansfield’s population grew over the same period, but while the over-65 population grew by 30.3 per cent, the number of 16-24’s fell by 14.4 per cent.

The roots of this challenging trend go back much further than 2010 and span both Labour and Conservative governments. Funding for services is a big part of it, but there’s more needed than just money. We need better, well paid jobs so that people have the disposable income to invest in our towns, which have declined drastically in the last few decades. From the post office to the pub, these institutions are part of the social fabric. Their loss is felt very deeply. Those who do have the cash often go elsewhere. If we are to make our towns into vibrant social hubs again we have to encourage a new diversity on the high street, offering experiences as well as shops and incentivising the businesses and services that you just can’t get online. 

Decision-making has been heavily concentrated in cities over successive governments. The promised trickle-out effects of city growth haven’t materialised. We need investment in infrastructure—transport, digital and skills. For so many businesses now there’s no practical reason to be based in a city centre, work can be done remotely, but we somehow haven’t yet provided the package to suit them and draw them to towns like ours. 

Skills in particular should be a top priority. Relatively few from towns like these go to university and those that do tend not to come back. Further education is the poor relation in our education system, but it’s the path into work for our young people. With improved funding and a plan to raise the esteem of vocational qualifications and work-based learning, our colleges would be considerably better equipped. 

Towns have huge assets. Wigan is well-located, with a legacy of engineering skills from our mining days, low rents and a loyal, willing workforce—that is how we have attracted and retained food manufacturing companies like Heinz. Mansfield is the historic centre of the legendary Sherwood Forest and surrounded by tourist attractions, with good connections to the nearby M1. It has a beautiful town centre full of listed properties and is one of the cheapest places around to buy a home. 

With the right investment and the ability to decide how it’s spent, both towns could benefit from so much more, build so much more. There is a sense of frustration that these issues aren’t properly debated or understood in Westminster.

Despite this, in both Wigan and Mansfield, there is a huge amount of pride about the role we played in the last century through industry. Nobody imagines we can simply reopen the factories or mines, but they do want jobs that allow young people to stay in the area, earn money and make a contribution to the community they love.

Our towns are rightly proud of their history. It’s time the voices of Wigan and Mansfield are heard.

(This article features in “All about towns,” Prospect’s new report in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation)