McDonald’s workers in Manchester have had enough of their poor & unequal pay, lack of union recognition and zero-hour contracts. To remedy the situation they are going on a ‘McStrike’ with other Mcdonald’s workers at selected outlets around the country. Workers supported the action by a 95% vote in favour for a strike on 1 […]
The Mayor’s Green Summit: a balance sheet
Guest article from Steady State Manchester: I attended the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Green City Summit on 21 March: here is a quick review. The event was, as you’d expect, a mixed bag, with good and bad aspects. It is too soon to make an assessment but here, from a Viable Economy perspective, are the important […]
Disabled People Against Cuts are calling for an end to the ‘conscious cruelty’ of Universal Credit
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) are calling for Universal Credit (UC) to be stopped and scrapped due to its multiple flaws, and old welfare payments to be reinstated. This report covers DPAC’s talk at this years Lush Summit where they explained the devastating effect UC is having on people claiming it. DPAC’s #StopAndScrap Universal Credit […]
Manchester is putting Housing First – and the results look good
This article is part of ‘The Meteor Explores: Homelessness in Manchester‘ series. Decadence, procrastination and occasional nudity. It would be tricky to explain some of our private domestic activities to an imagined third-party observer, but anarchic indulgence is for many the wholly necessary backend to the economically functional front which the aforementioned observer would probably wish […]
Damning report reveals over a third of Wythenshawe’s children are living in poverty
Guest Article from The Wythenshawe Reporter: Figures revealed by the End Child Poverty coalition, on the 24 January, show that in the five local authority wards in Wythenshawe around 34 per cent of youngsters are in poverty after housing costs are taken into account. The campaign blames the shockingly high levels of poverty in the […]
Manchester rejects post Brexit toxic trade deals with Trump
Do you fancy tucking into a turkey bathed in chlorine for your Christmas dinner? British academics think that may be a question we have to ask ourselves due to future trade deals with the USA, post Brexit. Chemically disinfected Christmas turkeys, with chemicals not meeting current safety standards, is just the latest scare story worrying […]
The Addy land squat: a missed opportunity for Hulme?
When masked bailiffs arrived to clear the North Hulme Adventure Playground of a group of squatters and dismantle the homes they had built there, it marked the end of the most recent in a series of occupations, and eventual evictions, of non-residential buildings across Manchester. The site’s residents spent three months clearing, building and planning […]
BBC local democracy reporter sham as contracts handed to Manchester Evening News publisher
Guest story from the Salford Star: The BBC has announced that its new massively funded Local Democracy Reporter scheme is set to benefit the profit-driven mainstream media, with Manchester Evening News publisher, Trinity Mirror, getting six funded reporters in Greater Manchester. The Salford Star pulled out of the process months ago, with the board telling […]
Austerity: the false economy increasing homelessness (part two)
Second article in ‘The Meteor Explores: Homelessness in Manchester‘ series. Part one of this story can be viewed here: The safety net of the ‘cradle to grave’ welfare state, implemented by Atlee’s government after the Second World War, is becoming increasingly threadbare due to the economic and humanitarian degradations of austerity. Increasing numbers in the […]
Greater Manchester pre-budget rally hears calls to bring down Tory government
Guest article from the Salford Star: A pre-budget rally on the steps of GMex in Manchester, last night, heard constant calls for the ‘arrogant and cruel’ Tory Government to be brought down. Speakers at the Manchester People’s Assembly rally included trade unionists, Labour Party councillors, the Canon of Manchester Cathedral, plus a message from Julie […]