Grimsby: the town on the front lines of left-behind Britain

17 comments

1. I remember when Brexit was supposed to magically solve all their issues.

2. The one thing Grimsby has plenty of is food-processing factories. It is home to one of the largest concentrations of food manufacturing facilities in Europe.

   Back in 1998 the BBC reported that these factories churned out more frozen pizzas than any other area in Europe.

   But the prospect of standing over a conveyor belt in sub-zero temperatures as frozen fish fillets or vegetables roll by during 12-hour shifts fails to excite many young people in the area.

   “I refuse to go to a factory, flat out refuse,” says Atkins.

   Back on the high street, 20-year-old Charlotte Owen says: “There is too much factory work. A lot of people here have mental health issues. Working in a rundown, depressing-looking factory is not something somebody wants, but that is what the town is.”

   These will of course be the same people who complain about immigrants taking the jobs they “flat out refuse” to do and that their town if full of foreigners.

3. Most towns grew because businesses had a reason to be there and people moved there to work. If businesses no longer have a reason to be there then the town declines. I’m not really sure what the govt can do, interventions rarely work. That said, they should at least be able to keep the streets clean and safe.

4. At least it’s grim by name. I went to Great Yarmouth thinking it’d be great!

5. Again this because we allowed the con man air time. This was predictable. Their position worsened because of brexit.

6. Why does it remind me of backwater streets of London, every town and city has this crap.

   Just nonsense writing by nonsense people for the easily led.

7. If only vested interest, paid for, media publications hadn’t promoted the lies for a decade and a half the country might have had a chance.

8. My mum had a job interview in nearby Immingham and the entire area seemed like a post apocalyptic industrial hellscape to me, and that was two decades ago at the end of the last period of Tory misrule. Doubt it looks much better now too.

9. Hello, other side of the Humber here. I’m from East Devon, I’ve lived in Mid Glamorgan, I’m now stuck in East Yorkshire. Honestly it’s the most destitute place I’ve ever lived in, this part of the North really is forgotten, there’s no public transport links, no career prospects, the infrastructure is terrible compared to where I’ve previously lived. 

   The worst problem though is that significant parts of Yorkshire keep screwing themselves over by voting Conservative, and then get shocked when Yorkshire gets ignored again by the party that’s been proven not to give a shit about the North. Most of the people here really do deserve what they get, just sucks for those of us that don’t vote Tories.

10. It’s a fascinating area. My brother moved up there and does very well working as an engineer earning a very good wage in a very low income area. There seems to be quite the divide between very well paid engineers and offshore workmen who are easily pulling in 6 figures and then the rest of the locals and retirees who are on next to nothing. The other interesting thing is the well paid workers are not university students or from well off backgrounds so a lot of the money is new wealth and is plowed into very nice houses and cars…in certain pocketed areas. There also seems to be a vast swaith of deliberate ignorance from all sides up there. They blame Labour for low growth because they feel like for some reason Labour have been stopping the conservatives from doing what they wanted or something…They are seriously cultish about Boris, more so than Farage. My Mum calls Boris, ‘Borry worry’ and has a smile similar to if she was remiscing being kissed by elvis once when she talks about him, they now buy the Mail as well as the Express because Boris has a column at the weekends. They don’t know anyone that disagrees with that view, not a single person.
    My thoughts are this, the well off engineers are tory voters naturally due to the industry and regulations being seen as a bad thing, limits on bonuses would be horrific for example. Being Engineers and offshore men means they drink at the locals with every one else and of course your life is always easier if everyone agrees, a lot of the town dwelling locals have fuck all so they buy into the chat down the pub and vote against their own interests. It’s fascinating.

11. I’ve been to Grimsby, as far as I’m concerned the place can shrink all the way off the map

12. Ah Grimsby. Whenever the usual ‘worst place in the uk to live’ comes up on AskUk comes up its always a contender

13. Wasn’t brexit meant to fix their problems, it’s was evident from the start it wouldn’t but hey ho nigel farage has got your back

14. Baby are you the north of England? Cause I’m going to promise you a world class rail but be a terrible disappointment…

15. This sad thing is just look at what is and isn’t their voter’s priorities:  

    https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/key-general-election-issues-chosen-9342139.amp  

    The town needs huge regeneration/levelling up, infrastructure spending and investment plus huge social and healthcare improvements but the voters are obsessed with immigrants and small boats (Grimsby 96% white w/ barely any immigration) and think that will solve all their problems  It’s really pathetic especially after Brexit shafted them.  

    They are like those American rural, red state towns where they rank bottom of every metric and everyone is born there but they’re scared stiff of foreigners and keep voting for their own demise. 

16. I’m sorry but Grimsby has been a shit-hole for well over 20yrs, it’s hardly anything new

17. I grew up near there. It’s a dead end. There are no jobs. Nothing to do. It isn’t on the way to anywhere so you don’t get many visitors, tourists or investment etc. It’s thing was fishing and it was sold a lie that Brexit would bring the old days of the busy docks back. Didn’t happen. Only recent boom industry there is offshore wind farms I think. Made a big splash. A few hundred jobs if you was lucky enough to have the expertise. Meanwhile several big factories closed so hundreds more low skilled jobs gone. If you are young and can afford to, there is zero reason to stay in these dead end towns that no one cares about.