John Harris of the Guardian presents a new series telling the story of the UK in 2021 through the voices and stories of ordinary people in four places with a distinctive identity.
In this programme, he and his producer Leala Padmanabhan visit the Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent, a place steeped in history - the pottery industry, coal mining and the birth of the musical sub culture Northern Soul.
The city also reflects some changes that have recently re-aligned British politics. Nearly 70 per cent of Stoke's voters backed leave in the 2016 EU referendum. Its three parliamentary seats were held by Labour for decades, but are now Conservative. The city is one of the key places the prime minister Boris Johnson says he wants to 'level up' by improving infrastructure, opportunities and community life. We ask the Conservative leader of Stoke city council, Abi Brown, for her views on 'levelling up' and what she wants to see central government deliver for Stoke's citizens.
People in Stoke's towns of Tunstall and Burslem tell us about their lives - emerging from the pandemic, the state of their communities, work, Brexit and how they think the city should be improved.
We discuss the impact of the decline of the pottery industry with some describing it as a 'bereavement' for the city but we also visit one of Stoke's enduring and successful ceramics firms, Royal Stafford in Burslem.
Finally, we visit the buzzing cultural quarter in Hanley to talk to young entrepreneurs, including the owner of a craft ale bar and restaurant, Bottlecraft.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan
Mixed by Hal Haines and Annie Gardiner Show less