Financial support is vital for millions this winter, but Greater Manchester’s standoff asks deeper questions about the legitimacy of a government which is bullying and lying its way through the Covid-19 crisis – writes Salford’s city-mayor Paul Dennett
Reversing society’s dehumanisation of the homeless, McClenaghan brings to life the hundreds of homeless dying on our streets every year
An early and lonely death is the ultimate fate for many at the sharpest end of the housing and homelessness crisis. Maeve McClenaghan’s No Fixed Abode documents how the first count of homeless deaths in the UK was created and brings to life the stories of those that died.
Mutual aid groups have been a lifeline to many – should they continue post-pandemic?
The pandemic lockdown saw communities banding together to provide support for the vulnerable, filling the gaps to support left by a slow to act state. Mutual aiders describe the challenges they face providing help during the Covid-19 crisis.
Manchester ‘collective solidarity’ protest demands end of hostile environment and harassment of refugees and asylum seekers
Human rights campaigners in Manchester are protesting the re-opening of Immigration Registration Centres which had been closed due to Covid-19, and have joined a nationwide call for Leave To Remain to be granted to all undocumented migrant people.
Manctopia: reality TV in a journalism jumper
The series trailer and episode lead-ins for the BBC documentary Manctopia are suggestive of a series seeking to analyse the inequalities associated with Manchester’s “property boom”.
Instead, this glossy reality TV entrenches a misguided message that uncontrolled investor-driven urban development is the only possible trajectory. Its winners vs losers framing negatively impacts those communities experiencing the pressures of gentrification on a daily basis.
Social housing companies extracting huge shareholder payouts from housing benefits paid to vulnerable tenants
Thirteen registered providers of social housing are using this financialised lease-based model in Greater Manchester. Five have regulatory judgements against them. Wigan is the borough with the highest amount of this type of housing which is fueling substantial dividend payments to shareholders, all derived from public money paid to house people with disabilities. Social housing […]
Lessons from Leigh
Ben Beach argues that in order to revive itself in places such as his hometown of Leigh, the left needs to engage with the grassroots organisations that are currently doing vital community work and re-cement itself as a force for practical, everyday change.
Define Affordable
How arbitrary definitions and a focus on ‘headline figures’ are exacerbating the housing crisis.
Donate
Thank you for interacting with The Meteor, a not for profit media organisation where public interest comes first. We run on a shoestring budget and any money you can spare would help us further our work of holding power to account and giving voice to marginalised communities across Manchester. Support our work Supporting our work […]
Social housing is key to alleviating the housing crisis, so why are we not building it?
National statistics show that across GM as social housing has fallen, housing waiting lists and temporary accommodation has risen. Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett and author of “Safe as Houses” Stuart Hodkinson give their views on the state of social housing and what needs to be done to improve it. It was the crises of […]