Book Review: The Rentier City by Isaac Rose

The Rentier City takes a geographical approach to arguing against the latest form of neoliberal conquest sweeping Manchester. Hinged on the concept of rentierism, something which writer Isaac Rose argues has been an undercurrent in the shaping of the city we see today, the book makes a wider warning about cities in the UK at large. Published by Repeater Books, the book makes its case by charting the Manchester story from the end of industrialisation to the present day, via historical examples of resistance, class struggle, racial equality, politically managed decline and Manchester’s obsession with memorialising certain aspects of its history.

Rochdale Festival of Ideas

In March, Rochdale hosted its first ‘Festival of Ideas’. Coinciding with the reopening of the renovated Rochdale Town Hall, it brought together artists, musicians, community groups, and schools to explore the power of creativity in bringing together everyone across Rochdale’s diverse community.