Steve Coogan has claimed that working-class people are being “ethnically cleansed”.
The Alan Partridge actor told BBC Breakfast that the redevelopment of major northern cities did not “actually benefit” the working class.
Coogan, who endorsed the Green Party at last year’s general election, appeared on the programme to promote the Co-operative movement, which he said fought back against “big business”.
“The problem with all these cities like Liverpool and Manchester is they’ve got all these big shiny buildings, but all the people who are disenfranchised have been ethnically cleansed from the area. They don’t actually benefit” he said.
And the one Coogan means is not “ethnically” at all, he means class clearance, the proles being pushed out by gentrification. If he did actually mean “effnic” then of course he’d be BNP. Which isn’t what he means at all.
It takes an actor to be able to spot the real reason why British (not just Northern ones) cities have changed for the worse in recent decades. Unfortunately Mr Coogan is not that particular actor.
(Laurence Fox was unavailable for comment or maybe the bbc has lost his number?)
“Alan Partridge actor says ‘big shiny buildings’ springing up in northern cities do not benefit blue-collar workers”
What the fuck does the son of an IBM engineer whose siblings are musicians and presenters, and whose whole career has been in comedy know about the blue collar workers?
The fact is, Manchester lost its “blue collar workers” in the 1990s. Not because of anything government did or didn’t do, but because of improved transportation and the rise of service work. You didn’t need to brew beer in Manchester, cheaper to do it in the countryside near Preston. You could put printers out in Stockport. The “blue collar” left and went to those places.
Because one of the benefits of Manchester is that it was a big city and a major rail hub, so if you wanted to get a certain sort of skill for your office every day, you probably could. Yes, a call centre is mostly basic skills, but you also needed people who could do complex analysis of data. And Manchester’s size and rail network means a colossal number of people. This is also why Reading thrived and Northampton didn’t. Similar size places, but one has a lot more rail lines in. Liverpool did OK, but it didn’t do as well as Manchester because it doesn’t have such a big network.
If you’re good at making things, you leave Manchester, go work in Derby. Well done. You earn lots and your rent is fuck all.
And here’s the thing: all of this is now unwinding. God knows what narratives the wankers will come up with, but there is really no benefit to having your office in Reading or Manchester now. Might as well be in Stoke or Northampton. You’ve got plenty of normal staff, and your specialists can work remote.
I’ve liked Coogan’s comedy but outside of that he comes over as a bit of a cunt…
There are 1,099 ethnics in Manchester under investigation for organised child rape.
But Manchester is a big place. I expect the proportions of ropists in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxford are larger.
“Might as well be in Stoke” like the son of a guy i know who’s an odds layer for Bet365, based in Stoke. His wife’s a head teacher in a Manc school and she’s the one who commutes. They like it but i can’t help thinking they’ve got the worst of all worlds.
Hallowed Be,
Stoke is about 10% cheaper than Manchester to live in. Similar crime rate. You’ve got your netflix, Amazon and no doubt multiplex cinemas., M&S food. The odd time you want to do some fancy shopping or see a musical, Manchester is 35 minutes by train. Why would you live in Manchester?
WB, oh its that close? Didn’t know that! I should look at the map sometime.
Why would you live in Manchester?
OK. But why, why, would any sane person want to live in Stoke? It’s a shithole. If you need to commute to Manchester, there are better options…
Hebden Bridge where all the well paid BBC tossers now live (thus forcing up the house prices for the locals).
Hebden Bridge is now, famously, the Brighton of the North, so you’d better like alphabet types. You may even need to pretend to be one to enter some premises.
Why would you live in Manchester?
This Yorkshireman doesn’t understand why anyone would want to live on the rainy side of the Pennines.
Yes, I know, I now live in Dorset, but as someone pointed out – Yorkshire may be God’s own County but Dorset is where he goes on holiday.
Typical Guardianista, entertainment industry bollocks. “All that investment and development is a bad thing. It hasn’t really helped people.”
Just bollocks.