Far right protesters gathered in St. Peter’s Square brandishing banners with racially charged slogans, following the publication of a report into Operation Augusta – an investigation of child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester. Katy Preen reports on who we really need to hold accountable for the failures to properly investigate and prosecute child sex abuse. […]
Can degrowth steer us towards a sustainable future?
Vincent Liegey is a spokesperson for the degrowth movement, which is investigating and promoting alternatives to our current unsustainable global economic model. A model which is proving disastrous for our climate and environment while creating growing inequality, instability and misery in societies across the world. On a recent visit to Manchester he discussed the myriad […]
The UK Border Regime: the ‘hostile environment’ dissected
Like many other UK citizens, I owe my existence in this country to family members who migrated here. My father and his family sailed here from India in 1948, escaping the horrors of partition, to settle in Farnworth. My maternal grandmother migrated from Ireland to Salford, seeking to escape the grinding poverty she grew up […]
The legacy of Black Power in Moss Side: activist Coca Clarke tells her story
Coca Clarke is an 85-year-old Black Power activist and she is still an active member of the vibrant Moss Side community, a community that – despite its many laudable efforts – struggles to shake off the lazy stereotypes and assumptions placed on an entire community by the media since the ‘gang wars’ of the ‘80s […]
Manchester MP accuses Boris Johnson of Islamophobia and calls for full inquiry
Boris Johnson has been accused of Islamophobia by Manchester MP Afzal Khan, who supports the call of the Muslim Council and other Conservative Muslims for a full inquiry into Islamophobia within the party. Johnson’s remarks comparing Muslim women wearing burqas to “bank robbers” and “letterboxes” have received widespread condemnation, with politicians across all parties demanding […]
SpyCops in Lush shops divides public opinion
Lush made a bold move with their recent #SpyCops campaign – bold enough to enrage a section of the public who saw the campaign as an attack on the integrity of all police officers. This pressure eventually led to some #Spycops window displays being taken down – which proves they hit a nerve, but perhaps […]
I experienced the Home Office ‘hostile environment’ – I’m still here because I am white
I was born in Newfoundland, Canada in 1961. My mum was English, a nurse, who went to work in Newfoundland in 1954. It was there she met Dad, who is Canadian. They married in 1960, I was born the following year. In 1963, we came back to the UK, and settled down in Middleton, where […]
Anti-racist campaigners to oppose Football Lads’ Alliance rally on eve of Arena attack anniversary
The Football Lads’ Alliance (FLA) is to march through the streets of Manchester on Saturday, just three days before the upcoming anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack. Stand Up to Racism, an anti-racism campaign group whose president is Diane Abbott MP, have organised a counter demonstration to the FLA, who they accuse of being a […]
‘The Truth About Fake News’ – the portrayal of refugees and asylum seekers in the media
The ‘hostile environment’ for refugees and immigrants in the UK has seen state-sanctioned human rights abuses proliferate. The government has been aided and abetted in producing this toxic environment by the right wing media in the UK, who persistently demonise immigrants and stir up far-right outrage. With the number of refugees and asylum seekers likely […]
Mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester on xenophobia and multiculturalism
Since the EU referendum on 23 June 2016, when the majority of UK voters chose the ‘Brexit’ option, there has been a worrying rise in xenophobic abuse in Greater Manchester and across the UK. Far right individuals and organisations are increasingly questioning the benefits of immigration and our multicultural society. Just a week after the […]