People, place and politics: The anatomy of dispossession in the geography of Ray Hudson

This article reflects on my 35 years of friendship and collaboration with Ray Hudson. It focusses on his studies of the north east of England and the processes of state-regulated deindustrialisation that have threatened to transform its social and political fabric. The area was once identified with the heartland of Labourism - a commitment to the gradual reform of capitalism through local and national government intervention. Hudson's work has tracked the failure of this approach and now reflects on the consequences as seen inter alia in the vote for Brexit and the growing support for the UK Independence Party.