When I was growing up, our leisure centre was a lifeline. Now it's been boarded up | David Olusoga

Privileged politicians don't seem to understand what the closure of subsidised sports facilities means for poor families in deprived areas Last Friday was a day of loss for Gateshead, my former home town, opposite Newcastle on the southern banks of the Tyne. On the very last day of the school year, right at the beginning of the long summer holidays and therefore at the very moment it is most needed by low-income families, the local leisure centre was closed. On our family WhatsApp group, a photo...