An outsider's view: a portrait of post-Brexit northern Britain

The Guardian

8 hours ago

Originally from the West Midlands, Merlin Daleman has lived in the Netherlands for most of his adult life. In 2017, the photographer embarked on a journey through the the UK that resulted in Mutiny, a photo book published by GOST. All photographs Merlin Daleman
Driven by curiosity to understand the divisions in the UK made evident by the 2016 Brexit referendum, he revisited the previously familiar with the eyes of an outsider
Daleman visited more than 60 towns and cities from Aberdeen to Bangor, Blackpool to Belfast and Fife to Skegness, surveying the streets on foot
'I spotted the young women walking into a coffee shop,' says Daleman
'Having left many years ago, I returned to find a country frozen in time,' says Daleman. 'While London had flourished, the communities of the north were left behind. Cities once full of factories were filled with food banks, barbershops and fading hopes
'I went to Possilpark in Glasgow and talked to people in healthcare and social work'
A woman and a girl sit listening to a Plaid Cymru rally calling for Welsh independence. Since the Brexit vote, there has been a noticeable revival of the independence movement in Wales
Daleman's images range from boarded-up shopfronts to rainy streets, canals and bright seafront businesses
'On the seafront at Skegness, I came across the rear entrance to the Pleasure Beach. The drainpipe cut through the word pleasure, almost as if striking it out – a detail that felt symbolic and ironic. Coastal towns have seen a decline in tourism since the late 80s, partly due to cheap holiday flights abroad'
As Daleman passes through towns such as Bridlington, he captures people demonstrating humour, warmth, fortitude and a sense of community
Noem Lorraine Wildes (left), founded Rainy Bakes. She prefers to be known not as a baker but as a cake artist. Clients bring her photographs, which she reimagines in sugar and icing. The business is based in Jaywick, often described as the most disadvantaged place in the UK
'At the food bank of the Elim Community Church, the number of visitors collecting a bag of free groceries had risen to 600 in a month, up from 400 the month before,' says Daleman. 'Volunteers told me they have seen this rise continue steadily in recent years'
The book's essay, by journalist Niels Posthumus, draws upon an interview with Philip McCann, an economic geographer at the University of Manchester, who believes that hardly any other European country experiences such a stark geographical divide between rich and poor as the UK
The economy of London – where national policy is formed – is larger than the economies of the next 14 largest British cities combined. A sense of disparity and disenfranchisement felt by many in the north is confirmed by economics. It is against this backdrop that the Leave campaign thrived, resulting in what could be considered 'a mutiny'. It is this that gave Daleman the title of his book