Birkenhead and Lower Heswall are only a short drive away but economically they are worlds apart
Data from the Office for National Statistics reveals a stark economic divide between the eastern and western sides of the Wirral peninsula; with the west having some of the least deprived areas in Merseyside and the east having some of the most.
Similar areas of deprivation are clustered along the east coast of the Wirral with both Seacombe and Egremont making the list of the most deprived areas in Merseyside. On the opposite side of the peninsula areas such as Caldy and Newton are among the area's least deprived. Why this long-standing divide exists has been debated for decades. Pat Cleary, a Green Party councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere for the last nine years, blames deindustrialisation in the 80s for the deprivation in Birkenhead.
Angela Eagle is the Member of Parliament for Wallasey: the constituency which includes both Seacombe and Egremont. Angela believes the deprivation in the area has only increased in recent years. Attention now turns to how to close the gap on the peninsula. The borough's food banks are doing so by not just helping people get food but in other ways as well. Richard Roberts is the manager of Wirral Foodbank, he said: "Most people only come to the food bank on average 1.4 times a month so we also help by trying to address the underlying reason someone is relying on it."
Those deeper issues which cause the divide are the ones that can only be fixed by political action. Angela Eagle laid out some of the ways Labour could help tackle deprivation in her constituency once in government. She said: "Strategically we need to create more jobs, we've just been through a period where industrial strategy was a bit of a dirty word but now with the green transition there's huge potential for investment in areas like Ellesmere Port'.
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