Dear readers — eight wards in Wigan, right at the far western edge of Greater Manchester, suddenly hold the keys to the country's future. At first glance this seat's demographics feel relatively uniform, and it's hard to make out divides at the ward level. To try and get to the bottom of a constituency at the centre of a political firestorm, our cartographer Josh Housden spent days combining census data, local election results and current polling estimates. The result is a map of Makerfield's estimated voting intentions, one that splits the seat into a bitty jigsaw of red and blue. But are Josh's estimates correct? We went door knocking across the constituency to find out.
Nurturing the next generation of Manchester's arts icons
Factory International is known for its diverse programming, continually bringing world class artists to Manchester. But alongside this, they have a year-round commitment to supporting home-grown talent. There's Factory International Fellowship which offers creatives a year-long programme of hands-on experience including shadowing major productions at MIF27, the Artist Takeover Series which invites artists to take over and experiment in their main Warehouse space, and free Factory Academy creative careers courses.
If you, or someone you know is a local creative, click below to find out how Factory International can help you develop your career in the creative sector.
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