Are the 2010s really like the 1930s? The truth about life in the Great Depression

Record unemployment, costly healthcare, a massive north-south divide, rat-infested slums - and movie palaces, dance halls and lidos. Juliet Gardiner kicks off our special focus on the 1930s with a look at daily life in Britain

Read more: Crash course. What the Great Depression reveals about our future

Related: What the 21st century can learn from the 1929 crash | Larry Elliott

Commentators often point to parallels between the current era and the 1930s - whether they are discussing geopolitics, state benefits or even "alternative facts".

By the 1930s, cinema had taken over from theatre and music halls as the most popular entertainment

Related: Hunger, outrage and bombs: how the Manchester Guardian reported the 1930s