The “hostile environment” immigration policy of the Home Office has blighted the lives of many people it has affected. The Windrush Wonders Oral History Project aims to raise public awareness of these stories of abuse by recording and publishing them. A project launched last Thursday in Moss Side will record the effects of the Home […]
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 […]
Former Black Panther joins local community leaders for anti-racism event in Moss Side
Moss Side has historically been one of the most deprived areas in Britain, and still today it suffers from the narrative regarding the events of the 1980s and 1990s that saw widespread poverty and unemployment lead to high rates of drug-related crime and a series of shootings. However, Moss Side also consists of a bold […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Xenophobia, gentrification and homelessness: Mancunians air their concerns
As Mancunians describe their concerns about the city, one is subjected to a shocking xenophobic attack caught on video.