Whilst spreading the ‘stay at home’ message, our news outlets have also been flooding us with images of people in parks and outside, fueling widespread suspicion and mistrust throughout communities. Police have reported an increase in calls and groups set up for mutual aid are being inundated with videos and pictures of neighbours playing in […]
At least 449 people died while homeless in the UK, over the last twelve months
As homelessness and the misery it entails increases across the United Kingdom, a collaboration by local journalists, charities and outreach groups has for the first time recorded the numbers of homeless deaths over a year. A figure which national and local authorities scandalously fail to calculate, collate and publish, despite the growing homelessness crisis. The […]
Stand Up To Racism 1 – 0 Football Lads’ Alliance
On the eve of the Manchester Arena attack anniversary Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) supporters opposed those elements of hate that exist within our society, personified in this case by the Football Lads’ Alliance (FLA) presence in Castlefield. The FLA, a far-right political organisation, announced a rally and march through central Manchester to occur just […]
Deliveroo Drivers: Mobile workers with a Mobile Union
Covid 19: face masks, boredom, Deliveroo and Zoom were some of the key features of that mundane, samey yet scary period. The use of face masks may have waned, but the popularity of food delivery services such as Deliveroo and Just Eat hasn’t. Food delivery riders are now a more common sight than postal workers; both professions carry a heavy load and involve long, hard hours but the main difference between them is that one workforce is supported by a large, established, wealthy union, the CWU. The other isn’t.
St Peter’s Square camp eviction hearing 13 January 2025
The red tents in St. Peter’s Square have been there for 10 months now, and the council want them gone. Their time may be up, depending on the outcome of a possession hearing.
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.
Casualties continue to rise in the war on drugs – is it time to call for peace? (Pt.1)
Deaths due to illicit drug use continue to rise across the UK and Greater Manchester, while ethnic minorities are particularly hard hit by the criminal justice system pursuing the prohibition policies laid down in the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The government is pursuing the war on drugs with its new drugs strategy, but will it make a difference?
Legislative theatre: enhancing and diversifying democracy, with a smile
Legislative theatre is flipping the power dynamics between the homeless and policy makers in GM, creating new workable policies drafted by people with experience of homelessness and tailored to their needs.
Gary Younge: ‘We must dream of the world we want, and then fight for it’
Professor Gary Younge’s ‘I danced here on other peoples’ dreams’ talk discussed the inequalities in society exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and explored the potential for people to build ‘a more diverse, respectful and inclusive society.’
‘The Arms Factory Next Door’ – the campaign to oust Elbit from Oldham
Elbit is the largest supplier to the Israeli military of unmanned aerial drones, which are used in lethal force attacks in Gaza leading to the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
Rafe Conn’s video documents the successful struggle of pro-Palestinian campaigners to remove the Israeli owned Elbit factory from Oldham.