A month of rolling protest at Cuadrilla’s hotly disputed fracking site at Preston New Road in Fylde culminated in a Carnival For A Frack Free Future demonstration on Friday 28 July. Amongst the diverse and colourful attractions at the Carnival were a larger-than-life hare, a Mr Blobby impersonator and a world record conga team – […]
Northwards Housing tenant wrongly accused of missing rent payments uncovers system error occurring 6482 times
A social housing tenant has been repeatedly wrongly accused of missing rent payments, causing him considerable stress. Appealing to the Housing Ombudsman the tenant was told that “mistakes happen”. But the tenant has uncovered evidence that the errors occurring in Northwards Housing’s rent payment system, causing them to wrongly accuse him, have happened 6482 times. […]
Serious failings in high rise fire safety at Stretford House uncovered by tenant’s investigation
A former Fire Safety Officer, Phillip Murphy, living in the high rise Stretford House in Trafford has compiled a damning report on fire safety management at the high rise block, which is a Trafford Housing Trust property. Murphy acquired a copy of the Fire Risk Assessment for the building after the Grenfell tragedy. Expecting from […]
Hulme community activist facing eviction for DIY to his own home
A vulnerable man living on the Bentley House Estate in Hulme since 1996 is threatened with eviction from a flat he bought in 2006, due to DIY changes he carried out to the property. After a long fought battle with the Registered Social Landlords owning the building containing the flat, he is faced with destitution […]
Guide to Supplementary Voting and candidates in the GM mayoral election
The big day for Greater Manchester is upon us tomorrow, the 4 May, when we vote for our first democratically elected mayor of the region. Supplementary Voting will be used in this election rather than the First Past the Post (FPTP) system used in parliamentary and local elections. You may not be familiar with the […]
Breathing is bad for your health in Manchester: concerned citizens call for action on air pollution
Illegal and health-destroying levels of air pollution across Greater Manchester have forced concerned citizens of Manchester to call on the mayoral candidates to act. Doctors, religious leaders, academics and teachers have signed an open letter asking for a new Clean Air Act for the 21st century, enshrining our right to breathe clean air. The GM […]
Manchester May Day festival goers march to rescue the NHS
Union banners will be flying high during the march from All Saints Park to Sackville Gardens on 29 April. The theme of this year’s May Day march is ‘Save the NHS’. Junior doctors were at the heart of last year’s Festival and this year health service workers will again lead a colourful and noisy procession […]
Emotions run high at GM mayoral hustings on the housing crisis
Mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester (GM) were left in no doubt about the dire effects of the housing crisis on its citizens at a hustings to discuss the issue. The panel were bombarded with questions and statements, often with distressing accounts of individual cases, over a broad range of issues including poor housing conditions, the […]
Mayoral hustings on the housing crisis in Greater Manchester
A chance to publicly challenge the mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester on their plans to tackle the housing crisis in the region is being offered at a special hustings at St Philips Chapel, Salford on Monday 3 April. There are many factors that contribute to the housing crisis, including rising rents/house prices, cuts to local […]
Journalist persecuted in India appeals against UK refusal of his asylum application
Amitt Bhatt is a journalist from India seeking asylum in the UK on human rights grounds. He fled India after investigations into corruption by the government put him and his family under threat. The Home Office decision to refuse his asylum application is being appealed against at an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in Manchester on […]