In the 19th Century, Rochdale was an economic boom town. The town's wealth being based on manufacturing textiles, which were exported around the world. I grew up in Rochdale in the 1960s and 70s. Back then, Rochdale was still doing fairly well. At that time, the town centre consisted mainly of independent retailers. Today, Rochdale is a shadow of its former self. The town is extremely poor and it is economically depressed. In this video I explain what went wrong and who is to blame.