"You've [only] got two pubs, he said, adding that social spaces have been replaced with more hairdressers, nail shops, takeaways and barbers. I think the government, between these and some of the Tories, they've killed the little businesses, Ian said. They've killed the pubs. Not only that, everything's just gone so expensive as well, hasn't it? Irene, a 66-year-old former textile worker, added."
"He also thinks England is missing a strong sense of identity, and national pride. You look at the Welsh, you know when they're Welsh, he said. Them flags and them dragons are flying high. The Singletons' disenchantment is symbolic of a community that is only six-and-a-half miles from Manchester city centre, but sometimes feels much further. Greater Manchester's Metrolink system has bypassed Denton, the congested routes out of the town make buses slow, and the railway station was named Britain's least-used for 2023-24, with only one return train service a week."
Turquoise Reform posters are prominent across Denton ahead of the 26 February byelection. Longtime residents report high street decline as social spaces vanish and are replaced by hair and nail salons, takeaways and barbers. Rising living costs and the loss of small businesses have left locals frustrated and younger residents renting with little prospect of home ownership. Perceptions of a weakening national identity coexist with practical grievances about transport: the Metrolink bypasses Denton, buses are slowed by congestion, and the local railway station recorded only one return service weekly and was named Britain’s least-used for 2023-24.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]