A year of the Palestine movement in Manchester
The story of 10 months and 400 actions in Greater Manchester, from marches to direct action.
Greater Manchester mental health early intervention service strike
Video report from the Greater Manchester mental health early intervention service strike picket line
Palestine solidarity in greater Manchester
John Nicholson of Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine reports on the breadth and diversity of Palestine solidarity activity across the region since October.
Review | Shows at the Whitworth Gallery Manchester
Colonialism, art, the museum logistics chain. Gareth Dale reviews this month’s shows at the Whitworth.
Video | Interviews with Go North West bus strikers
The day after ending their successful 12-week strike against #FireAndRehire, Manchester bus strikers spoke to Ian Allinson about the dispute and what comes next.
Ongoing Manchester bus strike defeats fire and rehire
The longest bus strike in British history is poised to win after a campaign involving an indefinite strike, community solidarity and a leverage strategy.
Indefinite bus strike in Manchester against #FireAndRehire
Around 400 Unite members at a bus garage in north Manchester have been on indefinite strike since 28 February against fire and rehire. Ian Allinson explains what is going on and the strike’s wider significance.
Solidarity on the streets of London and Manchester
People protested to stand against the Tories’ attacks on trans rights and to demand justice for Shukri Abdi. The two causes found each other on the streets.
After 9 June: on labelling fascists
Defeating racism will take more than an anti-fascist strategy, but we should clearly identify the fascist core of the new right wing street movement, argues Caliban’s Revenge. On 9 June 2018, central London saw the largest demonstration organised by the far right for many years. Perhaps more than 15,000 assembled to protest “against extremism” and “to […]
Photo report: opposing the DFLA in Manchester
Photos and reflections from Saturday’s rally of opposition to the racist Democratic Football Lads Alliance in Manchester
One year on: Manchester and English nationalism
Since last year’s bombing, Manchester’s tradition of radical politics has come to the fore again
Remember the dead, fight for the living
A video from an event in Manchester to mark International Workers Memorial Day
revolutionary reflections | The Roberts-Arundel strike
A never-before-seen pamphlet dating from 1968 tells the fascinating true story of the Stockport Roberts-Arundel textile strike.
Manchester housing workers to reballot after three months of strikes
On the last day of three months’ of strike action, culminating in a four-week continuous strike, Unite activist Ian Allinson interviewed Unite UCATT steward Bill Nugent about the dispute at Mears / Manchester Working Limited and comments on the dispute It’s not often that workers take this level of action. After striking three days’ a […]
Manchester housing maintenance workers strike
Report from the ongoing Manchester strike for pay parity and against housing maintenance on the cheap
Reflections on the Manchester bombing vigil
Colin Wilson reflects on the vigil in Manchester after the bombing of the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May.
#BanTrump – Thousands take to the streets across the UK – photos, reports and videos
Tens of thousands took to the streets around the country this evening to protest against Trump’s vile racist travel ban and Theresa May’s revolting invite to him for an official state visit. More reports as they come in! London Whitehall is standing room only from Trafalgar Square to Parliament. So many people it’s too big even […]
Learning and unlearning: how does the radical left build its understanding?
How does the radical left build its understanding? Who are the theorists? Sølvi Qorda makes the case for Vygotskian pedagogy as a way of understanding our problems and also of finding better cultures to replace them. For many of us, school is a humiliating experience made worse by testing. Upon leaving compulsory education, this experience […]
Obituary: Bartley Willcock
Ian Allinson and Sam O’Brien describe the remarkable life of Brian Bartley Willcock who died last week at the age of 82. Note: this has been updated with some details about funeral arrangements at the bottom. From an early age Bartley got very involved in his local church, St Clement’s Higher Openshaw, across the road […]
Teachers invest in action: NUT strike reports 4/7/16
Activists from Manchester, Birmingham, and London share their impressions of today’s National Union of Teachers (NUT) strike against academisation and other problems facing teachers and students. NUT rep Chris Evans writes: Around 700 teachers and supporters rallied at Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens during today’s strike against growing workloads, class sizes and academisation. There was a healthy mix of young and […]
Chicago teachers join Manchester’s biggest May Day for years
Tara Stamps and Matt Luskin from the Chicago Teachers’ Union joined Manchester’s biggest International Workers’ Day festival for years. Ian Allinson reports. Manchester TUC had organised a huge festival for May Day this year. Despite hail, rain and sun we marched into the city centre to Sackville Gardens and the Mechanics Institute (the birthplace of […]
Migrant solidarity in London and Manchester
Two activists, Ewa Barker and Kate Bradley, discuss their involvment in migrant solidarity in London and Manchester Ewa Barker initiated Manchester to Calais. Here she explains the dynamic within the movement in Manchester The response to our page on Facebook was phenomenal! A deluge, hundreds of emails, making offers, asking advice, intending to start similar actions […]
Manchester “Time to Act” conference connects climate and social justice campaigning
Rick Lighten reports Over 200 people came together for a conference on tackling climate change on Saturday 10 October. The conference, titled “It’s Time to Act”, was organised by a coalition of climate groups along with trade union and radical left activists. Groups involved included Campaign Against Climate Change, Friends of the Earth, Stop TTIP, […]
3 ways to build the social movement in Britain after Corbyn’s victory
Jonny Jones discusses how Jeremy and his supporters, whether they are inside or outside the Labour Party, could help to build a social movement that can challenge the Tories and point towards serious social transformation. Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader has been met with astonishment and celebration from many, ridicule and fearmongering from others. While […]
IS in the 60s: linking up with Manchester workers and fighting racism
Colin Barker recalls how IS grew in 1960s Manchester – making links with engineers and building workers, and campaigning against racist police violence.
Now More Than Ever: The Story of Greater Manchester CND
As the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approaches, Philip Gilligan reports on the inaugural screening of a film celebrating decades of anti-nuclear campaigning. Now More Than Ever: The Story of Greater Manchester CND by Hannah Ellul and Leanne Green (approx. 33 mins) had its inaugural screening at the Three Minute Theatre in Manchester’s Affleck’s […]
Planning the siege on Tory party conference
The Tories are holding their annual conference in Manchester from Sunday 4 until Wednesday 7 October. Rick Lighten reports from a People’s Assembly meeting that took place in Manchester this week to begin planning for a series of protests and events around the conference. Over 100 people attended the meeting to start mobilising and […]
Manchester protests against austerity
Mikhil Karnik and Ian Allinson provide pictures, interviews and a report from today’s anti-austerity demonstration in Manchester. During the afternoon around 1000 people took part in a static anti-austerity demonstration in Piccadilly Gardens. It brought together people from a wide variety of campaigns along with a significant number protesting for their first time. Speeches focussed […]
Occupations for homeless rights and education in Manchester
Ian Allinson reports from a lively, if soggy, day in Manchester for the occupations in the city centre for homeless rights and at Manchester University for free education. The homeless rights camp had been in St Peter’s Square, outside the Town Hall, for some weeks while Manchester’s Labour council paid money to drag homeless people […]