This came from an unexpected source: The London Review of Books. A piece by Joanna Biggs, entitled 'On Teeside' gives an insight into the economic struggles of the area post-manufacturing boom.In the article, Biggs meets Jane Atkinson, who runs the Wilton chemical plant. Atkinson, born in Middlesbrough, was the first woman in the UK to manage a blast furnace. She believes manufacturing in the UK is not dead, 'just deserted by young people who don't want to be engineers,' (according to Ms. Biggs.)
'Talking to people about the processes industry, people don't think we have one any more, because they're just ignorant of it,' says Tom Blenkinsop, Labour MP for Middlesbrough who Ms. Biggs spoke to in Westminster.
Photo from ralph&dot's Flickr
