A living income is a way to change the social security system for the better – and it could be pioneered in the UK for people in Greater Manchester.
Bev Craig announces ambition for a ‘Real Living Wage’ Manchester
Laying out her vision for the city for the first time as leader of Manchester city council, Bev Craig said social value should be an ‘approach that we all take’, starting with a Real Living Wage.
Food bank users challenge negative stereotypes peddled by politicians
Can You Hear Me Now? Project aims to dismiss damaging stereotypes around food bank use, by giving voice to the users, and promote an ongoing discussion about how to tackle poverty across Greater Manchester.
Covid-19: April unemployment rates indicate Manchester has been hit hard
Manchester ranks high on unemployment created by Covid-19 in April 2020. Northern cities and towns have taken the biggest hit economically during the pandemic, exacerbating the already substantial north-south divide. Unemployment, caused by Covid-19, has hit Manchester and nine other northern cities the hardest according to a regional analysis by the Centre for Cities. Using […]
Universal Credit hits all time low as food bank use in Greater Manchester soars
Social security payments, such as Universal Credit, are at an all time low, says report by IPPR think tank. Local campaign groups GM Poverty action and GM Unite Community comment on the situation. IPPR offer solution of an emergency funding package that they calculate would benefit those in need more, and cost the public purse […]
Fighting talk from Labour rally this week
On Monday 2 September, the Labour Party held a rally at the Lowry in Salford. I’d only received notification of it the night before, but even at such short notice it was an opportunity not to be missed. A snap general election is likely, and Labour is getting their message out while the current government […]
Food Poverty Action Plan aims to tackle hidden crisis in GM
The latest estimates are that 620,000 people in Greater Manchester are living in poverty, and struggle to put food on the table. Of those, around 200,000 are children experiencing food poverty. £30 billion per year has been cut from welfare budgets since 2010. By 2020, Local councils will have lost 60% of central government funding […]
Victims of an unjust housing system must not be targeted by Public Space Protection Orders
The councils is holding a consultation which could result in the implementation of a PSPO that adversely affect the homeless (see previous report here), including prohibitions on begging and sleeping in tents. The consultation is open to accept public statements until 8 April 2019: Recent proposals from Manchester City Council to bring in a […]
Manchester is hit hard by the overwhelming UK debt crisis
Britain is in the grip of a personal debt crisis, with an increasing numbers of families being caught in spiraling debt traps. Unsecured, non-mortgage, household debt is now at £239 billion higher than it was before the financial crash in 2008. When it comes to those struggling with debt, Manchester is hit particularly hard with […]
How austerity is killing legal aid and restricting access to justice
We often see law as the means of pursing justice in cases of criminal action, the violence of an assault or the calculated theft of property. But it also concerns what we consider daily issues, our right to welfare while unemployed, to have a safe roof over our head and the right to live in […]