Public services have been slashed by the false economy of austerity. Back On Track is a charity in Manchester that provides a wide range of services for those most in need of help, that have been abandoned by the state. Austerity has hit public services hard in Manchester and left vulnerable people unsupported. Many community […]
Proposed Order will ‘create a hostile environment for homeless people’ in Manchester city centre says open letter to the council
Manchester City Council will meet tomorrow to discuss the introduction of a controversial Public Space Protection Order. Fifty eight signatories to an open letter are calling on the council to oppose the proposal, which they claim will be severely detrimental to homeless people within the city centre. An open letter addressed to Manchester City Council […]
Review: Videodrome at HOME Manchester
David Cronenberg’s 1983 sci-fi thriller Videodrome was screened last Tuesday 6 August at Manchester’s HOME cinema. Starring Debbie Harry in one of her first acting roles, the film was presented as part of their Sound and Vision: Pop Stars on Film programme. HOME’s screening of Videodrome began with Ellen Smith, one of the cinema’s Ushers and […]
The Peterloo Memorial shows a shameful lack of solidarity with the disabled community
This year is the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre. Around 70,000 people gathered peacefully in St Peter’s Field, Manchester, calling for the right to vote so that marginalised communities across England could have a say in who represented them in parliament. Representatives that could fight for the rights of the marginalised and reduce the […]
Fifteen die homeless in Manchester over last 18 months, figure rises to 796 across the UK
The death toll of homeless people on the streets of Manchester has risen to 15 over the last 18 months. Across the UK the number of victims of the housing and homelessness crisis comes to 796, according to information gathered by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ). Working alongside researchers at University College London (UCL), […]
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 […]
Is Burnham’s A Bed Every Night scheme enough?
On the first day in his role as mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Andy Burnham pledged 15% of his £110,00 salary (£16,500) to his newly created Mayor’s homelessness fund. He had soared to victory in the election with 63% of the vote on the back of a pledge to end rough sleeping in Greater […]
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 […]
Can alternative models of ownership alleviate the housing crisis?
The housing crisis is a prime example of the economic term market failure. Politicians of different stripes have followed policies, introduced by Margaret Thatcher, of increasing market forces in the housing market, by promoting private ownership of homes, and degrading social housing by selling it off with heavy subsidies – while promising but failing to […]
Community union publish Universal Credit survival guide
Increasing numbers of people across Greater Manchester are being signed up or switched over to the controversial and heavily criticised Universal Credit system. To help those struggling to cope with the change to the new welfare system, Greater Manchester Unite Community Branch (GMUCB) have published a Universal Credit survival guide. Universal Credit, the Tory and […]