How British towns got left behind

With England through to the knockout stages of the World Cup and hopes rising that football might finally be coming home, Westminster is watching nervously — and closely. The beautiful game shapes the national mood like little else. For politicians, that creates both huge opportu ...  Show more

The Greater Manchester mayoralty made Andy Burnham famous. Now he's hoping he can take the approach he developed in the city to the whole country. This week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan speaks to four serving mayors — and one former one about whether the role wi ...  Show more

Hello! We took a trip to Hebden Bridge, awarded 5th best place to live in the world, to find out how towns and villages can thrive. Lisa Nandy MP and Beth Paramor both know a thing or two about what powers places to success, and what can be done to help those which aren't.ANDCome ...  Show more

Middlesbrough, in the north-east, is one of the most deprived towns in England. Once a steel and shipbuilding powerhouse, its fortunes changed when those industries closed down. Today, the town that Gladstone described as “an infant Hercules” faces a precarious future. David Bake ...  Show more

What is it like to run a metropolitan area? How does devolution impact the citizens of regional areas? Does party affiliation affect the decisions a mayor makes? Andy Burnham, Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Andy Street, Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands, meet with ...  Show more

Britain has been promised that political power will flow from Whitehall to local government to help rebalance the economy - but how successful has it been? With Brian Groom of the Financial Times, plus author Julian Glover and Andrew Adonis, chair of the National Infrastructure C ...  Show more