Hartlepool Ranked 3rd Most Deprived Town in England – Despite Billions in “Levelling Up” Promises..
- teessidetoday
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Decades of empty promises leave Hartlepool trapped in a cycle of poverty & deprivation while leaders claim ‘levelling up’ success...
1st November 2025
Hartlepool has once again found itself at the wrong end of the national league tables – with the North East town now officially ranked as the third most deprived neighbourhood in England, according to newly-released government figures.
The figures reveal a staggering 42% of households across the borough are now classed as “highly deprived”, compared to a national average of just 10%. Only neighbouring Middlesbrough fares worse in the North East, embarrassingly topping the national rankings with half of its households falling into the most deprived category.
The findings, taken from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), paint a bleak picture of life for thousands of families in our town and across much of Teesside – despite years of multi-million-pound government funding and flashy regeneration promises designed to “level up” our region.
Billions Spent, But Poverty Remains, so What's Gone Wrong ?
For all the talk about investment, freeports and “Northern Powerhouses,” the North East’s reality remains unchanged – poverty, unemployment and shockingly short life expectancies compared to the rest of the country have simply not improved, with the latest figures revealing many areas on Teesside such as Hartlepool & Middlesbrough are moving backwards.... & not forwards in terms of progress.
The IMD data, released last month, does not go into detail as to whether areas have improved or declined since the last report. Instead, the report shows how places such as Hartlepool & Middlesbrough have changed relative to each other. The result? Deprivation is now so widespread within some local communities that it has become a national issue, & not just confined to traditional former heavy industrial industrial areas such as Teesside...
Its also reported that as many as two-thirds of local councils across England now contain at least one highly deprived neighbourhood – up from 61% in 2019.
Yet despite the huge investment drive on Teesside, towns such as Hartlepool and Middlesbrough continue to sit at the very top of the table – raising serious questions about whether central government schemes have delivered anything meaningful other than to line the pockets of the private corporations who are sitting at the very end of the governments seemingly bottomless pit of tax payers funding.
Teesside’s Grim Rankings
As its found that Middlesbrough continues to hold the unenviable title of England’s most deprived borough in the country, with 50% of households in the most deprived bracket. This aligns with already well-documented figures showing the town has:
Some of the highest child poverty rates in the UK
Epidemic levels of crime, including knife and violent crime rates that in some cases surpass London hotspots..
Whilst Middlesbrough ranks worst for income, education, and crime, its claimed Hartlepool ranks worst in the country for what's known as employment deprivation. This is despite the creation of a Tees Valley Combined Authority, a Teesside Development Corporation to kick start regeneration projects, unprecedented government investment, and endless promises of “jobs and growth,” the reality is both Hartlepool and Middlesbrough remain trapped in economic decline.
A Tale of Two Englands
While the North continues to battle deep-rooted deprivation, the Southeast of England tells a very different story. England’s least deprived neighbourhood is found in Harpenden, Hertfordshire – worlds apart from the daily reality facing communities across Teesside.
More than one in five neighbourhoods in the North East and North West fall into the most deprived category. In stark contrast, the figure is just one in 25 in London, the South West and the East of England, and one in 33 in the South East, leading many to the conclusion that the divide is not closing..... It’s widening !
A Legacy of Industrial Decline – And Political Failure
Experts say former industrial and mining communities – such as Hartlepool – were left devastated by de-industrialisation and never properly supported in the years that followed.
Dr. Megan Armstrong of University College London criticised successive governments for failing to repair the damage:
“Working-class industrial towns have been left to bear the brunt of de-industrialisation with few alternatives or support. Successive governments pursued austerity and privatisation, deepening inequality. Breaking that cycle requires sustained investment and genuine community engagement.”
Her comments reflect what many in Hartlepool already know: we've been promised change for decades – and left with empty words and derelict buildings.
“Levelling Up”? Or Leaving Behind?
Critics claim the figures are “a damning indictment of a system that has left some communities broken”, with cuts to council services, increases in the cost of living & crippling council tax increases sending many families to the financial brink. Its claimed billions of pounds of investment is being plumbed into deprived communities such as Hartlepool with seemingly no visible economic benefits to the local community, with the Labour government claiming its tackling root causes of the deprivation in local communities by pledging: £500m for children’s development, The expansion of free school meals, & A £1bn crisis support fund
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also expected to publish their own updated deprivation indexes soon – but the story across the UK is eerily familiar: coastal towns, former industrial communities and neglected urban areas have been allowed to fall further and further behind the rest of the country
But, for Hartlepool & Middlesbrough, it seems the message is clear.
We aren’t “levelled up.”
We aren’t even levelled.
We’re left behind.
