Northern Life was a regional news programme produced by Tyne Tees Television from 1976 until 1992. The show aired on weekday evenings.  The reporter, Peter Holland, features on many of the Northern Life broadcasts, as well as on the news programme Today at Six, the precursor to Northern Life. Some of the other stories covered by Holland include Cleveland Castles and an interview with rock and roll star Tommy Steele, lead singer of The Steelmen. The 70’s was an era of much change for women...

Northern Life was a regional news programme produced by Tyne Tees Television from 1976 until 1992. The show aired on weekday evenings.  The reporter, Peter Holland, features on many of the Northern Life broadcasts, as well as on the news programme Today at Six, the precursor to Northern Life. Some of the other stories covered by Holland include Cleveland Castles and an interview with rock and roll star Tommy Steele, lead singer of The Steelmen.

The 70’s was an era of much change for women workers. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and the Employment Protection Act promoted equality of opportunity between men and women in education, training and harassment at work and perhaps the moment when the trade unions also recognised the rights of women.

This news report was produced in 1977, a time of great economic difficulty in Britain. Inflation was in double-digits for the fourth year in a row, and the Labour government under James Callaghan was struggling to balance the economy. In March of 1977, the government revealed that inflation had pushed prices up by nearly 70% in three years. Despite this, Callaghan’s government survived a vote of no confidence, but only by making a deal with the Liberal party. In the same year the British Steel Corporation closed the Hartlepool Steel Works, leading to a loss of 1500 jobs.

The women at the Fashion Industries Factory, Moreland Street, West Hartlepool had begun strike action on the 28th of April in response to a wage dispute about differing rates for a range of jobs, which left them with fluctuating weekly wages.  The workers called on other unions in County Durham to support their strike action. More than 220 women (called 'girls' by the male presenter and a women union representative alike) walked out and set up picket lines. The factory responded by advertising in local newspapers for cutters, pressers and pleaters to replace the striking workers. The factory had been running for 8 years prior to the strike and manufactured clothes for Marks and Spencer’s as well as mail order firms.

The Fashion Industries factory in Hartlepool is no longer running, but the street does still contain industry, such as a transport firm and a manufacturing and engineering company. The factory was near to the Hartlepool docks, which were the main source of income for much of the town’s history. Originally used only for fishing, Hartlepool’s docks became famous for their ship building industry, including William Gray and Company, supplying the navy during the First and Second World Wars. Gray’s finally closed in 1961 with the last ship constructed, the Blanchland.

During World War One, Hartlepool became the first area on British soil to be attacked by German warships, and during the Second World War the area was bombed by German planes. The docks had also been used for the exporting of coal, but following a massive decline, the last coal cargo departed Hartlepool in 1971, six years before this news item was produced.

But what was the fashion of the day that these women were engaged in making? Look carefully at the film and you will see these striking women were also models for 1977 fashion themselves, stylishly wearing flares and wonderful platform shoes. 1970’s fashion began with the  mini skirt, bell-bottoms and the hippie look from the late 1960s, but  platform shoes,  which often had soles two to four inches thick, were worn  with wide-legged, flared jeans and trousers and became the perfect combination and a fashion mainstay for both sexes throughout most of the decade.  This trend left an indelible image of the decade commemorated in popular culture. David Bowie, an icon of glam rock in the 1970s, famously wore platform shoes while performing as his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. But it was also a style immortalised in the 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta (released in 1978 in the UK), which cemented the "disco look", complete with three-piece suits for men. On trend yes, but shoes with sky-high platforms, date back to at least the 15th century and more recently had been in fashion in both the 1930s and the 60s.

Tyne Tees TV gave people an idea of what was going on in their local area. Regional news was particularly important as it gave viewers the chance to hear from local voices on matters that could directly affect them, something that national news often neglects. Even today, there is still a widespread belief that the national news is too London-centric, giving regional news a vital role in championing local issues.