As the cost of living soars and inflation continues to spiral, a charity has warned that three northern towns have been hit harder than most.
Research by the Centre for Cities says that Burnley, Blackpool and Blackburn are three of the worst affected towns in England – and all are within the same Lancashire corridor.
Local people claim that this part of the country has been “forgotten”, with government promises of “levelling up” failing to deliver.
The Independent spoke to businesses, residents and local politicians as they shared the struggles they face.
“It’s not something I wanted to do,” cake shop owner Hannah Greenwood says. “I never wanted to be unaffordable. But I have to match my cost.”
The 27-year-old put off raising prices as long as she could, even as the cost of ingredients soared, and she denied herself a paycheck for months.
Eventually, something had to give. Her cheapest bespoke cake used to be £40 – now it’s £70.
“We are trying to push through it, but I can’t really see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The business owner, like others across the country, has been hit by the rocketing cost of living. Inflation is once again at its highest rate in four decades in England, hitting 11.1 per cent last month.
But the situation varies across the country, according to the Centre for Cities, with Burnley, Blackburn and Blackpool some of the hardest hit towns.
The think tank tracks inflation for every large town and city in the UK, estimated using data on spending patterns and wages.
Burnley had the highest inflation rate of anywhere in the country at 13 per cent, according to its latest assessment for October.
Located just 40 miles away, Blackpool had the second-highest figure of 12.6 per cent – joint with Glasgow. And then Blackburn, nestled in between the two, came joint fourth at 12.4 per cent along with Dundee, trailing behind Bradford by 0.1 percentage points.
The three Lancashire towns have consistently been at the top end of inflation throughout the year, according to the Centre for Cities analysis. In summer, Burnley was still experiencing the worst inflation of all, followed by its two neighbours.
In a report from the summer, the Centre for Cities looked at why northern towns were being worst-hit by inflation.
Two explanations were leaky housing stock and reliance on car travel, leaving residents vulnerable to soaring energy and fuel prices.
Afrasiab Anwar from Burnley Council tells The Independent his town fits this criteria. Houses are “poorly insulated” and residents rely on cars because public transport is lacking, he says. As a result, locals are feeling the strain of rocketing costs in these areas.
“Have we had the investment that we need in that?” the Labour council leader asked. “No, we haven’t. We’ve had cut after cut, and funding taken away.”
Another explanation was deprivation levels. Poorer households tend to spend a greater share of their income on essentials such as energy and food where prices are soaring, meaning they will see a larger proportional increase in outgoing costs than better-off families.
The Centre for Cities says deprivation levels could also explain why some towns are being hit harder by inflation than others. Poorer households tend to spend a greater share of income on essentials – such as energy and food – whose prices are soaring, meaning their outgoing costs will see a sharper rise than others.
Burnley, Blackburn and Blackpool were all identified as some of the most deprived towns in England in a 2019 government analysis.
Residents tell The Independent they are feeling the pinch as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Linda Marshall, a carer and retired NHS worker, says she has stopped eating out completely already. “Can’t even afford to go to the chippy now,” the 60-year-old from Burnley says.
Her family has never been well-off, she says, but have always worked. Now they are “ready to batten down the hatches” as the cost of living crisis tightens its grip.
Over in Blackpool, deputy council leader Ivan Taylor says: “There is a lot of worry among people as to where this inflation is leading.”
He adds: “We are one of the most deprived districts in the country, so we are going to be on the frontline of some of this.”
Zubair Desai, an energy adviser for the charity IMO, says he sees people struggling in “very deprived” areas of Blackburn.
“I went to one house in particular that stands out to me,” he says. “It was an old lady living on her own. She had no toilet paper, no gas, her electric was on emergency credit, she didn’t have any lights on.
“That’s just one of many cases unfortunately in Blackburn at the moment.”
The government has launched a levelling-up fund to boost investment in poorer areas, although Blackpool has had bids rejected in the past.
Michael Gove also unveiled plans to reduce regional inequalities as levelling-up secretary in February, which included aims for better transport links, pay and education among others. Critics were left underwhelmed at the lack of investment involved.
Cllr Anwar from Burnley Council says most parts of Lancashire need help with levelling up but this was not coming through. Towns have to bid against each other for support, he adds.
“What gets me is the government has had this mantra of ‘levelling up, levelling up, levelling up’. They’ve had 12 years to do that.
“Yes, they’ve been forgotten,” he says about Burnley, Blackpool and Blackburn, “but it is not since 2019. They’ve been left behind since 2010 – since this government came in.”
But Paul Maynard, the Tory MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, says he does not believe his town has been forgotten by Westminster. It has had £40m through the levelling-up agenda’s Towns Fund and Boris Johnson was a “constant presence” as prime minister, he says.
“I don’t think even the government’s strongest critics could say that we’re not paying attention to Blackpool,” he tells The Independent.
The Centre for Cities says its research reveals a “clear geography” to the cost of living crisis that is “deepening inequalities across Britain and worsening the North-South divide”.
The think tank says: “Cities outside the South are suffering higher rates of inflation and tighter squeezes on household finances.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We are levelling up and spreading opportunity and investment in places like Burnley, Blackpool and Blackburn, with over £230m already going to the North West from the Levelling Up Fund.
“Lancashire is already benefiting from more than £167m to improve transport, revitalise town centres and improve education and training facilities. This investment is helping regenerate Kirkham High Street, expand Burnley Campus and create world-class sport facilities in Blackburn.”
