‘Poverty was entrenched in Preston. So we became more self-sufficient’ | Hazel Sheffield

The city voted for Brexit because it felt cut off by a failing economic system, says councillor Matthew Brown. But the region has been revived by thinking locally

Matthew Brown believes few available jobs and rising inequality led Preston, like every other district of Lancashire, to vote to leave the EU in June. "People are angry with how the economy is structured. Brexit has happened because of a failure of the current economic model," says the 44-year-old councillor. But he adds: "What we're doing now is in response to that, it's about how we can change local economies to work for people who feel excluded."

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