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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
We need a changed ownership model to rejuvenate northern towns for good
If we’re serious about sustainability, we need to create local asset bases, says North of Tyne Mayor JAMIE DRISCOLL

WHAT should Labour do to revitalise the towns of northern England? Well, let’s take an analytical approach to this: some don’t need revitalising. 

There’s affluent towns, like Alnwick and Morpeth, that are among the least deprived places in Britain.  

There’s pockets of poverty even in these places, of course, but they’re very different from towns like Blyth, where there’s a 45 per cent incidence of multiple deprivation. So it’s the old industrial towns that are struggling.  

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