Salford City Council is set to approve an outrageous £4.752million subsidy to the English Cities Fund, or ECf, to build a 23 storey block of apartments off Stanley Street that will feature ‘no affordable housing’. The ECf, is a partnership that includes the financially massive Legal and General company and Muse Developments, and the funding […]
SwitchMCR brings a dystopian vision of 2020 to Manchester in new play ‘We Won’t Fall’
Local theatre company SwitchMCR are bringing their new production, ‘We Won’t Fall’ to the International Athony Burgess Foundation this month. Imagine a world very different from the one we live in today. A world where music and free speech are censored, and a battle is waged to keep the community spirit alive in the face […]
Re-focussing the economy in times of climate emergency and economic exclusion
In a talk given to Manchester Labour Backbenchers’ Committee on 6 February 2020 Mark H Burton of Steady State Manchester outlined some of the key problems and potential solutions to climate emergency. In addressing this overall question, I will set out what I see as some of the key challenges, identify the main contenders for […]
Greater Manchester Fire Service cuts still ‘unsafe’ says firefighters union
As GM Mayor Burnham defers some cuts to fire service, the FBU condemns ‘unsafe’, ‘depleted service’. Guest article from the Salford Star. Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has deferred some cuts to the fire service through adding an additional £6.25 increase to the Mayoral Precept within the Council Tax. But a letter to firefighters from […]
One in 23 deaths in Greater Manchester is now linked to air pollution
One in 23 deaths in Greater Manchester is linked to long-term exposure to air pollution, new research shows. Research from Centre for Cities has revealed that one in 23 (4.3%) deaths in Greater Manchester is linked to long-term exposure to air pollution. The only area in the North West with a higher proportion of air […]
Mayor Andy Burnham announces plans to make Greater Manchester a ‘Co-operative Zone’
Making progress on his previous promise to make Greater Manchester “the most co-operative region in the UK” Andy Burnham releases the report to turn that plan into a reality. Mayor Andy Burnham announced plans to turn Greater Manchester (GM) into a designated ‘Co-operative Zone’, with dedicated resources to offer business advice and support for new […]
Sir Richard Leese says ‘we are open to working with anybody’ – we asked campaign groups what they thought (pt.4)
In response to a recent blog post by Sir Richard Leese, we’ve been asking local groups to share their experiences of working with Manchester City Council. Sir Richard Leese says the council are open to working with any parties interested in environmental and development issues. This is the fourth article in a Meteor series called […]
Sir Richard Leese says ‘we are open to working with anybody’ – we asked campaign groups what they thought (pt.3)
In response to a recent blog post by Sir Richard Leese, we’ve been asking local groups to share their experiences of working Manchester City Council. Sir Richard Leese says the council are open to working with any parties interested in environmental and development issues. The following article by Pete Abel of Manchester Friends of the […]
Review – Resist: Stories of Uprising
‘In the age of fake news and post-truth politics, Resist: Stories of Uprising chooses to fight fiction with (well researched, historically accurate) fiction.’ – Ra Page Days after publication, Manchester Literature Festival hosted the launch of Resist: Stories of Uprising. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Protest: Stories of Resistance, Comma Press’s latest anthology of short stories pairs writers with […]
Fossil fuels, oh fossil fuels, where did you go?
On Monday 2nd Sept, Rising Up family group visited the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to give cards that children had made asking them to stop investing £2billion in fossil fuels. Lillia Adetoro, 10-year-old climate activist, read out a poem on the day and is seeking a meeting with the Pension Fund’s chair, Cllr Brenda Warrington, to talk. […]