Britain beyond lockdown: can we level up?

Jonathan Watts continues his road trip in Hartlepool, where some see an opportunity to emerge from the past into a greener future

Micky Day is an electrical cable installer from Hartlepool, one of the poorest, most avidly pro-Brexit regions in the UK. He is not interested in Westminster politics and has little time for talk of the green recovery, but he knows how to unite a community and care for people who are hurting. And it is this that inspires his thoughts about Britain beyond lockdown.

We can't have more cuts. There are a lot of people on their knees already," he says. There is a lot of industry in this area. If the government puts the money on the table, it could be massive in the north-east. Let's get people back working and lift the economy off its knees."