Birkenhead - One of the Poorest Towns in England
How much do you know about Birkenhead? Either little or much, did you know that Birkenhead is one of the poorest towns in England? What does the fact really show? That’s the purpose of this video. Birkenhead is a town and ferry port in England located in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. This town may or may not be popular with many of our audience, depending on what they are searching for. If you want to know more about Birkenhead, it has been featured in one of our videos profiling towns in England. We’ve discussed other towns and cities considered to be listed among the poorest. For now, it is the turn of Birkenhead. Let us focus on it.
The Town’s Official Position
It’s quite commendable that the officials of the town aren’t denying the obvious-that their town is one of the poorest. They’re unlike other politicians who selectively employ statistics to highlight projects whose effects aren’t being felt by the people-just to score political points. For instance, Mick Whitley, Birkenhead’s member of Parliament once admitted, “Birkenhead is one of the most deprived towns in the country” adding that the town has two of the poorest wards. He also said: “Our unemployment levels and our claimant count are above average.”
Also, Councilor Pat Cleary, one of the three ward councilors for the town and Tranmere cited a shift in the societal order at Birkenhead, at Wirral Council that “shocked the political elite.” He blamed this sordid situation on a combination of factors such as underfunding, bad town planning, and wider trends around shopping habits. He also decried the city’s lack of a mass transit system as denying the people the opportunity of getting around without a car.
Councilor Steve Hayes is another councilor whose words are weighty when it comes to Birkenhead’s situation. He was taken to the town at age two and he surely knows his onions when he speaks about the town. He described the town as one without a Local Plan for many years while citing a few abandoned projects. One of the reasons he gave for the poor state of the town is that the huge investments made for the town have been allowed to go downhill progressively. He also lamented a lack of funding.
Birkenhead in the Past
Birkenhead used to be the beating industrial heart of Wirral. For hundreds of years, the ferries across the Mersey were a common feature of the town. They aided to build a bridge to trading in Liverpool since the 14th century. The first underground railroad in the world which was built in 1886 also aided huge growth along the east coast of the peninsula. That is why Birkenhead became part of the “New York of Europe.”
The development was sustained till the next century. In fact, in the 1960s, this boom ensured that the unemployment levels in Wirral were as low as 2.5 percent.
A Change in Fortune
In the last few decades of the 20th century, fortune started to move on toward the negatives. Those decades of decline and neglect brought untold hardship and difficulty to the people. Its heritage and identity started disappearing and were eventually lost in the face of unemployment and stagnation. It got so bad that the unemployment rate in Birkenhead reached 35 percent in 1993. It was even worse among men as 52 percent of them had no job. Up till now, you would see rows of empty shops there. Honestly, everything is wrong with Birkenhead as one of the poorest towns in England. We do not have to gaze about to see.
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Пікірлер: 138
Having a greedy Corrupt Council certainly hasn’t helped Birkenhead over the last few years.
@elliotlambert3817
6 ай бұрын
you think that this corruption has been going on since the seventies when Margret hated the north west and with held all due aid and tax.
@karatefella
4 ай бұрын
They have let Birkenhead become a crap-hole while building themselves two brand new office blocks a stones throw away from all the shops which have closed down.
@gbwildlifeuk8269
4 ай бұрын
@@karatefella not mention tens of thousands paid to a contractor for NOT building a hotel for golfers at hoylake, when they discovered consent wasnt granted but they agreed to pay the contractor regardless of the outcome! Millions on a flood defence at west kirby - thats never flooded! Cycle lane at fender lane that bottlenecks the traffic at the lights and emergency services cant get through! 20mph on roads then they were resurfaced needing 20mph putting on again! Theyre in special measures for incompetant use of council funds, (along with other labour councils) how will they manage the countrys' money if they win the election? Bunch of clowns.
@martinoneill4857
3 ай бұрын
How much does the contractor give back in brown envelopes. Only reason why I can think of the council still pays them, they gain.
I always found the Wirral to be a very contrasting place , on the one hand you have the picturesque side with parkgate , thurstaston etc on the southwest side and then the industrial Birkenhead n Wallasey on the other side !
@joeswift2106
10 ай бұрын
Its like game of thrones
@PhotoWirral
9 ай бұрын
The M53 divide 👍
@lefthandlee
7 ай бұрын
Have you ever been to wallasey its got a massive coastline aswell
I was born in the 50's so I've seen a lot of changes and I'm sad to see what it has become. The council have gutted this town. It all started when Hamilton Square traffic flow was changed. Hamilton Square was like a legal hub with all the buildings occupied by offices and businesses to supply those offices. The council killed the businesses by changing traffic flow in the squaret and by doing so killed that part of town. A giant swathe of land was cleared for a dock regeneration scheme 25yrs ago displaced 100's of families and the ground is still barren. I've got a story for you all. I live in Birkenhead in a street of terraced houses. At the bottom of the street there is a small patch of grass with about 5 mature trees on it and it is used regularly by dog walkers and kids and sometimes small street parties. It's a nice patch of green amongst all the bricks. Around the perimeter is a 4ft fence made of sturdy iron and could easily last for 100yrs or more. Well, Wirral council has decided to get rid of that fence and replace it with a 6ft sheet of steel mesh, which probably won't last 10yrs. The work has been going on all week and it will go into next week. A team of 4 men every day plus the tools, equipment and materials would cost many thousands and all for nothing. Meanwhile the council is closing libraries and cutting services right across the borough whilst also introducing 20mph zones. But I love Birkenhead and the people who live here, they are my people.
My friend has to travel from Plymouth to there to do some work! He got back yesterday, and said it was really bad! On Saturday night he went across the river, and said everywhere was packed.
I live in Higher Tranmere & I love it. I love Birkenhead. ❤️
Not knowing much if anything about how things work in The U.K. here in The U.S. in the 2020s poor cities such as Detroit are experiencing a resurgence as young people move to the area buying up cheap properties then restoring them and opening various enterprises. They also buy surrounding homes and neighborhoods restoring them as well, or turning them into Green spaces for parks or even farming and community gardening. The key is making the property cheap to purchase so these young investors will be willing to take the chance. It has worked remarkably well on this side of the pond.
Not any different to many small towns in the UK. Birkenhead has some amazing buildings and a fantastic history. The town centre is a bit dead but I love the place, a damn sight better than many other small towns that live in the shadow of a big city,
@soapyd35
6 ай бұрын
The council are about to abandon many of these historic buildings as they've paid £9 million pounds for new accommodation. And Birkenhead is skint? Not the council
This video just skims the surface and does not examine Birkenhead's wider context in Wirral and the Liverpool city region. Look just a bit deeper to discover the resilience, energy and pride of the people who live there.
@garyrigby21
9 ай бұрын
Birkenhead is not even this Poor! Look at Bebington! and as you say it's Part of the Liverpool city region
@paulnsno7198
5 ай бұрын
@@garyrigby21 Bebington is not Birkenhead! Birkenhead is the town and centre, the North End, the Prenton, Woodchurch, Ford, Tranmere, Upton and Noctorum estates have always been Birkenhead and many are the suburbs. New ferry and Bebington are not, same for Bromborough and Eastham.
@mrooney714
5 ай бұрын
Rock ferry is also in Birkenhead, and tbf not many people class the woody, nocky, ford, upton as birkenhead either@@paulnsno7198
@l3awjawz
20 күн бұрын
@@paulnsno7198 I always found it hard to tell what was part of Birkenhead and what was outside the town. For instance, I always thought that Rock Ferry, Tranmere, Prenton and Bidston were separate places from Birkenhead.
@paulnsno7198
16 күн бұрын
@@l3awjawz I missed out Rock Ferry. Upton and Bidston are on the outskirts.
Grew up on Wirral in 70s and 80s but still visit. Used to be busy for shopping but most of shops moved out. I doubt if you even gave incentives to shops to move back they would as Cheshire Oaks and the Croft which also has industrial units are the bigger draws.
One advantage of being poor is that the old Victorian buildings tend to survive, and hopefully there will be enough money someday to restore them to their former glory.
@tedoneilclark4710
Ай бұрын
The lottery fund will take care of that as they are very good at restoring buildings that are for show and not actually for people to live in.
Wirral Council can not unblock grids brush streets prune trees or repair a pot hole to last more than about a week,when you do not sweep roads brush up leaves grids block roads flood and sewage even comes out of some grids because nothing works anymore as far a drainage goes by us,not pruning trees means more leaves from bigger leaf mass,Liscard has so many grids blocked because rubbish builds up,the way they repair roads nowadays is even pathetic Walked up Manor Road Liscard and they are filling cracks in the tarmac and all up the road looks like a child has patched it up today. They cut corners so much Wirral is broken. Rubish on the Motorways here is the worst ive seen hard shoulders do not get cleaned up for months and road signs are not readable as in too dirty or buried in overgrown verges. It's third World stuff going on under our Council now.
@Coneman3
10 ай бұрын
It’s up north so doesn’t count.
@ianphillips9455
6 ай бұрын
Go check how much money has been taken from WBC and like all northern councils then struggle to carry out services meanwhile southern councils have gained most of the money taken from the north.
Birkenhead is a small area.. there's surrounding areas like you've stated.. tranmere, prenton, rock ferry, new ferry, Woodchurch there all classed as Birkenhead in people's eyes. There's posh areas.. 5 minute walk away there's a rough area. That's Britain!!
I have recently moved to Birkenhead, and despite it's obvious poverty, it remains a good place to live. It possesses much fine architecture and many grand old buildings, but sadly many now sit derelict. The area desperately needs meaningful investment, but it is very hard to see where that will now come from, after Britain's tragic decision to leave the E.U.
@stevenjoy3537
10 ай бұрын
Yeah because it received millions from the EU over the last couple of decades
@TruthTeller144
10 ай бұрын
Leaving the EU is not the problem, why people keep saying that is stupid. The problem lies with Corrupt Politician's and Councillor's keeping money from the place and probably pocketing it too!
@mikefoley360
10 ай бұрын
Where do you think the eu got the money from? Clowns....
@theshamanarchist5441
10 ай бұрын
Brexit was the best thing to happen to this country since Lord Sandwich invented portable food.
@joebloggs9719
10 ай бұрын
Why would we need to give money to the eu to for them to give it back to us for investment.
Well if this video was created 2 months ago given the youtube date then its at best inaccurate. Some of the pictures are years out of date and others are not of Birkenhead but of Liverpool. The town does require regeneration and that is currently underway despite the labour controlled council, including Mr Whitley not giving coherent replies to concerns and the Council getting extentions to deadlines of them not spending leveling up funds. That's not the issue with this video. Learning Canteen appear to be nothing more than a hit piece channel and their research is nothing more than a 30 minute Google search linking to a majority of old pictures and other KZread snippets. Its poor content at best and quoting the BBC certainly won't get you any bonus points as after a long list of journalistic inaccuracies their spokes lady for disinformation, Marianas Spring has just been outed for telling lies on her CV to get a job in journalism capacity.
This was depressing viewing. I live in Birkenhead and a lot of the pictures on here are not from Birkenhead. How many times did you say it’s the most in deprived in all England. Come on it’s not that bad seriously. All these pictures showed streets without ppl. This Birkenhead is my home, and it’s not as bad as your making it out to be. There are lots of places that have poverty and struggles , but Birkenhead does have a lot to offer if you really knew Birkenhead
@garyrigby21
9 ай бұрын
i agree! Birkenhead is NOT that Poor! and some of the photos on here are of Liverpool city centre
@markthomas7279
9 ай бұрын
I think the north end is pretty eye opening!
@KyouJah42069
4 ай бұрын
I'm from the Nocky and work in birkenhead and the main issue i see with poverty in the area is low educated people, lazy people who just want to sit off on the dole, too many dealers and too many unguided people who just genuinely don't know what to do with themselves.
The Wirral council have currently chosen to spend vasts sums of money on their nice new big office block, instead of regeneration projects. They are a tad incompetent at many simple tasks, and cut corners. The roads are a classic example, lots of pot holes and sunken grids to snap your springs. Recently they Re-dressed the roads; ( Dumping loose stones on the road and a bit of tar instead of proper resurfacing) The results are a poor repair. Their workmen resurfaced some public footpaths recently, and made a right mess off it. They have started their war on motorists with unnecessary 20mph speed limits that are not near schools. In this video, Not all the photos are from the Wirral .
@ianphillips9455
6 ай бұрын
Like most places in the North, Wirral has had Millions of pounds taken from it by central government over 3.3 Billion £s has been taken from Northern councils meanwhile Southern councils have gained about 3 billion pounds at the same time so maybe better to blame the right people that also introduced laws that meant that lots of council services are handed to private companies that just so happen to be connected to the "right" people.
It's so sad that such a beautiful place should be so very deprived and all those good poor people living in misery. Something has to be done it's not right and it's happening everywhere in the country.
The situation in Birkenhead is symptomatic of the breakdown of society in Britain as a whole. The grammar school I attended there as a boy is gone, so too the comprehensive with which we were merged. The church I attended stands derelict against the sky. The hall where I went to Boy's Brigade is an empty shell. The shops where I spent my weekly spends are boarded up and empty. It's not a matter of 'more investment' (other people's money) needed. That would be no more than a temporary sticking plaster. The ills are not financial. There is a lack of purpose, a Godless malaise that lies like a green mould over a society that has lost its bearing and consequently its stability, hope and vision.
Get rid of the council and stop the bloody parking charges
The place does not even have a decent red light district anymore.
It may well be as very poor as you say but this video does little to indicate this. Try Jaywick in Essex to see examples of real poverty.
@davidlester7066
9 ай бұрын
Jaywick is definitely or has to be the most poorest place in the UK thats why the Government dont dump illegal immigrants there not good enough for them .
Birkenhead looks posh compared to Ellesmere port
Surly liscard is more poor than birkenhead?
not entirely accurate also many pictures of liverpool... thats not birkenhead
Consecutive Labour councils and councillors are keeping Birkenhead poor.
@ianphillips9455
6 ай бұрын
Total rubbish the government has taken over 3.3 billion £s from northern councils and at the same time given that much to southern councils.
I was there yesterday. But to be honest, it doesn’t look so bad. Definitely not rich but doesn’t look horrible.
The narration is nearly as depressing as the images.
Some great buildings in the town.
Lived thr years ago meny good memories
I live in birkenhead for 3 years
These guys who beg in Birkenhead buy alcohol and smack. You offer them food and they turn it down. Money is what they want. But dont fund them.
The Green agender? is that why they closed 2 golf courses. I think it's too flog off for the cement mixers to move in. Why don't they do something with all the crap places around ( for years) that the developers don't want ?
Absolute cobblers from start to finish. I have lived in Bhead all my life and seen it get massive investment and renewal. There is nothing- not one thing that is said in this video that does not apply to any other town in the UK.
Half the shots are of Liverpool....
"The first underground railroad in the world." The world's first underground railway opened in London in 1863, as a way of reducing street congestion.
@chloewilliams1112
8 ай бұрын
I think the actual proclamation at the station is that it was the first fully electrified rail tunnel under water.
@eckeynecker
4 ай бұрын
First Electric it is with the oldest underground station (James Street ) not the actual first underground railway .
it's actually not that Poor anymore it's part of Merseyside, Greater Liverpool and Liverpool gets the most tourists in the UK outside London
@craigrobertson2193
9 ай бұрын
No Oxford ?
@Stefanuccio9
9 ай бұрын
It’s called Liverpool City Region, not Greater Liverpool and it’s always been part of Merseyside since the boundary changes in the early 70s.
I think fuel poverty is affecting everyone not just Birkenhead. Cut the green tax rubbish and people will have some more cash in their pockets.
I clearly know more about Birkenhead, than the person or persons who produced this tat! Firstly try not using images from Wallasey and Liverpool, they are not Birkenhead! Secondly spouting Wirral Borough Council propaganda doesn't help your cause, have you ever actually spoken to anyone from Birkenhead? I suggest you learn to research your subject thoroughly before putting out your inane drivel.
I was born and bread in Birkenhead, this will never leave me
Brought upon themselves. I was brought up in Birkenhead, Woodchurch. Went to a London Shipping Company for my apprenticeship as a Marine Engineer and got sent to Camel Laird's for the industrial module. The shock to my system was massive. Pure union run in the most inefficient way possible. After finishing at sea I found that the ultra-left unionists ran everything. I was expected to go to a convener's home to beg for a Union Card to work. I just let my qualifications do the work and entered technical management instead. Eventually moved away and had a much better life for it. Since when I found that there was a complete reluctance by companies to open there. Even Vauxhall had to be bribed and cajoled by the government to go there.
@ianhunter4731
3 ай бұрын
How did the people bring it upon themselves?
some of that is Liverpool
What a dreadfully poor commentary. Ok so its poor and deprived, but how many times did you repeat it! It's main problem is probably deindustrialisation and a number of problems caused ironically by EU membership. Cammel Lairds suffered from EU rules and patterns of trade changes also changed.
@salkoharper2908
10 ай бұрын
Yeah i'm sure the town will now be made great again by Brexit. Just keep holding your breath for the next 300 years. If you think the town is going to be improved by the same political party that started deindustrialisation in the first palce then i've got a bridge to sell you. Ironic how just across the sea, a ferry trip away, Dublin is thriving. Why do you think that is?
@StewartWalker-hy1eo
10 ай бұрын
Spot on because Cammell Lairds Welded the first Aircraft Carrier and made the first one with an angled deck
It’s not that bad I visit there few times places like crummlin in wales is more poor
Any problems with Birkenhead go to new Brighton no holiday makers go to the waterfront no docks Can you find any factories? No? There’s a Your answer.
I live there
Not a true description of Birkenhead
if the council stopped lending money to other councils , then we would be far better off . wirral wonga .
The whole town of Birkenhead was and has been ruined by planners, councilers and piss head drug dealers and dole scroungers who surround the town centre , the rest of the wirral is a great place to live. I'am Born and bred in Birkenhead (boro' road 1958 ) but feel a shame of the low live scum that blight this once great town,
Government doing what Government does making things worse.....have they admitted burning down the old market yet?
Barely a single fact in the whole video. Especially about transport. Birkenhead has multiple Rail links, numerous and regular bus services. However, the underground "Railroad" wasn't even close to being the first in the world.
Birkenhead has the most listed buildings outside of London.....its just got a shite council
the town is bin,possibly a reflection of the rest of of our glorious Great Britain.i feel for the lovely people that live there,and the rest of this broken land...
Lots of Birks at the head, it seems
BIRKOOO
Theyve just thrown this together!!!!!????and ya were birkenhead not liverpool!!! And proud to be from birkenhead i was born above shop chester street near priory!! Its whos in charge not interested!!! 😢😢😢😮😮😮
Not entirely accurate, a lot of us work for a living and don't claim benefits
@joebloggs9719
Ай бұрын
Well obviously a lot of people work but you can't argue that its not a shithole
50% of my pension go on my heating if it costs 4000 a year a get 8000 the councillors on in for what they get out of it
The murderer Connor got a minimum of 48 years in this region of because of the drug criminals, and within the same period in the north-east of England, a person from very nearby area crafty,nucky warren 0:12 because of bail conditions get apprehended was it a coincidence I do not think so?
What's the point in showing this it never change!!! They ve destroyed the town pumped no money into it??remember ghost town by the specials!!?? This is the ghost town!!!!😮😮😮😢😢😢😢
some photos were not birkenhead
What the facts really show??
Utter dross i'm afraid
Can I just ask why you think you have the right to talk about the uk when your page states that you live in Ukraine..and also why you keep leaving London out..
@miko9258
10 ай бұрын
he's allowed to make content on countries even if he doesn't live in them, and this video isn't about London.
@septme9618
10 ай бұрын
@@miko9258 you don't know a country unless you live in it
@joebloggs9719
10 ай бұрын
What a moronic comment to make. Anyone has the right to speak about whatever they like. Anyone can do some research and produce a video on a topic. Can we not discuss the war in Ukraine since we don't live there?
@septme9618
10 ай бұрын
@@joebloggs9719 this is a free country so I'll type what I wish and that is my comment on you have to live somewhere to know how it really is 🇬🇧
@joebloggs9719
Ай бұрын
@@septme9618 late reply.. You can type whatever you like as it is indeed a free country and I can point out that you're talking bollocks. As someone who grew up in wirral and works in Birkenhead I can confirm that it's a shithole
Why is UK so poor
Some true some rubbish ,thinking this is an ai bot ,not a real person narrating it’s a scam
Lilly Savage came from squalar and became a millionaire
@philmcchrystal1670
8 ай бұрын
No he didn’t come from squalor, he was brought up in a decent street surrounded by good families, where, as he growing up, most people were in employment
There's rumours that Ethiopia are organising a pop concert to help them out.
It poor cos the tories destroyed industry here in the 80's an we have one of the worst councils in the county
Odd how all these 'poor' people smoke cigarettes, go to the pub, have Smartphones...
@pathurren4024
8 ай бұрын
@@vivvvvaaaatrophy7680 the quite a nasty video that is nothing like the birkenhead I know ..... why didn't you say something about the kind and friendly people that live there ?.
I’m in Birkenhead I am living in Birkenhead