‘Carry on asking questions’ Andy Burnham tells primary school reporters ignored by Boris Johnson

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and children’s commissioner of England answered Manchester Media Club mini-reporters’ questions in live press conferences and encouraged them to keep trying to have their voices heard. Mini-reporters from Greater Manchester interviewed Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor and Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, about their post-pandemic future. The six […]

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 […]

Greater Manchester plan for jobs, homes…and the environment?

After several delays the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has published the new draft of its Spatial Framework. The previous version, published in late 2016 met considerable criticism, especially from groups campaigning on green space but also from other quarters, including our own critique of its assumptions of accelerated “economic growth”. On the other side the […]

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 […]

Greater Manchester’s social and solidarity economy revealed

Transform GM – an action research project looking to understand, map and promote ‘alternative’ economic activity in Greater Manchester (GM) –  have just launched a new website mapping the social and solidarity economy (SSE). The SSE is made up of initiatives which prioritise other values over the economic bottom line and, unlike many charities, are […]

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 […]