Industrial restructuring, labour, and locality: the case of the British pottery industry

In this paper a case study of industrial restructuring in the pottery industry is presented as an illustration of wider changes in industrial organisation in the early 1980s. The background to crisis and restructuring in the pottery industry is considered, and some of the contradictory elements in the new model of production that now characterises the industry are outlined. In conclusion, the geographical effects of economic change in the industry are considered, particularly those on labour and the locality of Stoke on Trent, where the industry is located.