As public support grows for bus regulation in Greater Manchester, campaigners from Better Buses for Greater Manchester this week have been taking local council leaders for a ride… on a bus. Throughout Better Buses Action Week local residents have been inviting council leaders onto their commutes to convince them to support bus regulation and to […]
Manchester tops local authority league selling 673 public properties in five years, while only buying 165
Manchester City Council has sold off more public property than any other local authority in less than five years. In total 673 properties were sold between 1 April 2014 and 31 July 2018. During that same period the council bought only 165 properties. The scale of property sell-offs in Manchester and across England shows how […]
Deliveroo strike Manchester: ‘the money we make per delivery is decreasing’
Deliveroo riders took to the streets of Manchester yesterday for the second time in two weeks to demand better pay and conditions. The strikes in Manchester are co-ordinated with a series of walk outs across the UK and Europe demanding better treatment of workers by the multinational food delivery service. Riders covering the Manchester centre […]
‘THERE’S NO PLANET-B’: Youth Strike 4 Climate in Manchester
Youths in Manchester walked out of school and joined thousands of others across the UK, on 15 February, to demand action against the climate crisis. Hundreds of children gathered in St Peter’s Square in Manchester joined by parents, University students and seasoned climate campaigners, all critical of the government’s record in reducing CO2 emissions and […]
School climate strike to hit Manchester – backed by 12 local academics
A school climate strike, a call to action against the climate crisis started by one young Swedish girl, is set to hit Manchester tomorrow as well as more than 50 other towns and cities in the UK. The action has received the backing of 224 academics, 12 of whom are from the University of Manchester, […]
76% in favour of re-regulating bus services in Greater Manchester poll results show
As the Greater Manchester mayoral office deliberates on how best to organise bus services across the region a poll has shown that 76% of those questioned would prefer bus services to be re-regulated, on a model similar to London’s. The poll also showed that 82% agreed that local authorities “should have more control over bus […]
Rough sleeping increases 34% across Manchester in a year
Despite the well publicised efforts of the Greater Manchester mayor and Manchester City Council to reduce rough sleeping, the Manchester street count in 2018 has seen a 34% rise compared to 2017. The street count is a single night snapshot, carried out between 1 October and 30 November, of people sleeping rough in a local […]
Low income families in Manchester face a £1,000 ‘poverty premium’
Low income families in Greater Manchester could be paying over £1000 a year more for goods and services such as energy, credit and insurance compared to those on middle and higher incomes, according to new research by Greater Manchester Poverty Action. This higher cost for poor people is known as the ‘poverty premium’, where low […]
Trafford council spends £38m on investment properties: are they ‘gambling’ with public money?
An investigation into speculative property deals by local government, show the practice is increasing rapidly across England, as cash strapped councils try to survive austerity cuts. Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal democrats described these types of investments as “gambling” and that there was “a very high risk of bankrupting their local authorities”. Amongst the […]
Show your face and go home: asylum seekers and migrants forced to travel from Stoke to Salford for two-minute appointments
People living in Stoke-on-Trent with pending asylum and immigration claims have been told by the Home Office that they have to report at Dallas Court in Salford – an 80 to 90-mile round trip. Over 80,000 people per year have to report at their local Home Office reporting centre or a police station. In the […]