COVID crisis, austerity and the ‘Left Behind’ city: Exploring poverty and destitution in Stoke-on-Trent

Abstract

Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘cost of living’ crisis revealed and intensified the United Kingdom’s (UK) socio-spatial inequalities, these crises did not emerge into a vacuum. Long-term trends of deindustrialisation and austerity have meant many places particularly the former industrial areas across the North and Midlands have been ‘left behind’. The current crises have exposed the structural fault-lines created by austerity across 2010/20 especially comprising significant cuts to welfare and local government services, with the outcome being sizable parts of the UK’s post-industrial landscape experiencing poverty and destitution. In this paper, we focus upon deindustrialised Stoke-on-Trent in the North Midlands of England. Enduring long-term deindustrialisation and suffering from austerity, the article draws on qualitative and quantitative data to outline how the city contains a panoply of embedded structural problems including low-paid jobs, welfare retrenchment, poverty and destitution. Given it is a possibility that austerity will be reimposed after the next UK general election in December 2024, the paper concludes by briefly discussing the implications of these structural problems for UK government policy, indicating the urgent need for alternative policies to adequately address structural issues in places like Stoke.

A civic and sustainable 15-minute campus? Universities should embrace the 15-minute city concept to help create vibrant sustainable communities

“…There is no doubt that universities face multiple challenges around inclusivity and the environment and are turning attention to their civic role in place leadership to address this (Liddle et al, 2022; Gratton and Jones 2023). The cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating existing problems for disadvantaged communities (Etherington et al, 2022). Student finance, debt and anxiety problems are making in part-time work a necessity and often this has a negative effect on attainment and wellbeing (Callender 2008; Thompson and Ivinson 2020).…”

“…15-minute city thinking could help these universities integrate further through civic engagement and represent a step change to those that are not presently embedded in their local communities, enabling them to (re)insert themselves into the locality and realise the multiple interrelated benefits that this can provide (Sangupta et al, 2020). As this perspective paper highlights, this is particularly relevant for post-industrial cities like Stoke-on-Trent, cities which are high on indices of deprivation and are struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the challenges wrought and intensified by the current cost-of-living crisis (Etherington et al, 2022). Disadvantaged people are particularly impacted by this as are students who are ‘among the 42% of fuel-poor households who suffer from a long-term lack of adequate energy services in the home’ (Petrova 2018: 20).…”

Taking sides: The role of universities in supporting community driven approaches to addressing poverty

“…Several prominent researchers, including the Vice Chancellor, are actively researching specific issues of hardship and poverty in Stoke-on-Trent, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of these examples are collaborative efforts, working in partnership with, for example, Citizen’s Advice (Etherington et al, 2021). Furthermore, in 2022, Staffordshire University hosted the inaugural Action Against Poverty Conference, which has further cemented our visibility as a university that is taking a stand against hardship and poverty, and the societal inequalities that create them.…”

“…And here lies the challenge. Despite much evidence of the realities of hardship in Stoke-on-Trent (Gratton et al, 2019) and what Etherington et al, (2021) calls 'pending poverty catastrophe' in the city, at the time of writing Stoke-on-Trent is red wall conservative led council with a clear narrative of being 'on the up'. Poverty in Stoke-on-Trent then is partially contested by some, and clearly uncontested by others.…”

Action on Poverty and Hardship in the English Potteries

“…Post-industrial cities can have higher mortality rates, which can correlate with people being engaged in riskier unhealthy behaviours (van der Pol et al, 2015). Stoke-on-Trent has acknowledged health and social inequality challenges (Hurst et al, 2012; Murray and Leighton, 2008; MacLeod and Jones, 2018) and is the sixteenth most deprived area in England, with child poverty rates sitting at 43% (Etherington, 2021). The citywide deprivation issues are one of the reasons that historically the city was awarded a health action zone to address health and social inequalities (Goldstraw and Page, forthcoming).…”