Sunderland Is More Than Weary

And It’s Nothing Less Than the Mackems Deserve

Sunderland is trendingy again! This long-neglected city by the sea, battered by severe economic storms, remained on the peripheries of decision making for decades. I have a suspicion that secret Sunderland investor Bruce Springsteen and honorary northerner Ken Loach (whose film The Old Oak is now on Netflix) would agree that Sunderland is owed some time in the spotlight.

Kenan Malik’s recent insightful and balanced article about Sunderland hit me hard. I was initially outraged by his repeated references to Sunderland ‘town’ but quickly found myself writing a letter on my ambivalence towards Sunderland rather than its city status. I hated being from this place and I used to disparage it. Now, I feel protective of it. Its struggles are no longer lost on me. Even its name has depth and division, deriving from ‘Soender-land’, meaning ‘a land that is cut asunder’. Etymologically, the river can be blamed for this, but I’ve never seen a body of water wider than the North-South economic gap.

I grew up in a council street on the outskirts of Sunderland in the 90s. I am aware of my White privilege. I was always encouraged to foster a progressive mindset but to stay loyal to my roots. This proved tricky. Contempt for my home city increased with every class-related setback I faced. Assumptions that I had less potential than my middle-class peers held me back. At the time, I don’t think I realised how much harder everything might have been for those who experienced racism.¹

Instead of directing my anger at cuts and policies, I blamed the place and its seemingly inherent bigotry for making me look uncultured. I soon learnt to deny my heritage and put my DH postcode to good use: a perfect exit strategy when combined with a strong academic record. Somewhere along the way, my Mackem accent vanished. (Korean Billy has a better one than me these days!) Was this a case of dangerous rhetoric contributing to cementing Sunderland’s position as a so-called ‘dead-end place’? Probably not. Adults were right to warn me that working-class youngsters in the North East had (and still have) some of the worst prospects in the country in terms of social mobility.

I sincerely hope that Sunderland’s masterplan works, but it shouldn’t have been disregarded for so long. Sunderland has been grossly neglected for decades and no quick fixes will suffice. It needs a government that understands the nuances of working-class areas, one who will do more than squawk ‘level up’ and only take action when the situation surpasses the realms of dire. We must tackle inequalities and show (not simply tell) bairns that they have intrinsic value. Sunderland’s people are just as deserving of sustained investment as their Mancunian and Londoner counterparts. Perhaps they (we?) would even thrive off diversity if given the chance.

1. I base this on data. A State of the Nation report, authored by Heriot-Watt University found “overwhelming statistical evidence that people from Black and minoritised ethnic communities, taken as a whole, experience disproportionate levels of homelessness in the UK”. National statistics on homelessness imply that racial discrimination doesn’t just ‘feel bad’; it has deep-rooted and lasting effects on life chances. According to Shelter, at present “24% of people who are homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness in England and Wales are Black (11%), Asian (6%), from a Mixed ethnic background (3%) or from an Other ethnic group (4%) – even though, collectively, they make up just 14% of the population.” ↩︎