The Big Issue - Today's Wigan Evening Post

Dear Editor, I am responding to your article WEP 19th March "Article on town splits opinion" regarding the interesting article written by the New Statesman about Wigan past and present. Lord Smith as Leader of Wigan Council and Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is bound to disagree with the tone of the article. Lord Smith is correct to say “Wigan, like most northern towns, has suffered the impact of industrial decline and the economic downturn." However, the industrial decline of the cotton, coal and other industries can only be blamed for so long. It is expected that government, local, national and politicians are able to use their resources and expertise to combat and reverse any decline. For decades, Wigan and surrounding townships have not been able to recover and the decline is evident in our town centres. During this same period, the heartbeat of Lancashire, Preston has gone from being a town to becoming a city which has resulted in increased pride, prosperity and a £0.5 Billion "City Deal." The "Greater Manchester" experiment has failed. Wigan propping up Manchester has been detrimental to Wigan, economically, culturally and socially. Whilst central government is to blame for dragging Wigan into Greater Manchester against its wishes in 1974, Lord Smith has been at the helm of local government for the majority of this time and therefore he should take full responsibility for the legacy he has overseen. History will tell the tale of failure and missed opportunities. Michael Moulding