“It’s because of them that Hartlepool is a shithole.”
They were pointing at Craig, a friendly former fisherman who had lost his job when he had to care for his dying mother, had lost his home because Universal Credit didn’t cover the rent, and had lost his legs because sleeping rough had given him infected sores, leading to amputation.
I was in the town ahead of the UK’s grey, December election, and had sat with Craig in a doorway to interview him. He was desperate to get rid of the Tories and their benefits system, and scared of two teenagers who had burned down his tent and regularly assaulted him and his homeless friends.
