Manchester

2023 - 4 - 2

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

'You get frustrated': three Black leaders on Manchester's diversity ... (The Guardian)

A Guardian analysis has found just 4.6% of people in prominent public positions in Manchester – including politics, sport, education, arts, business and ...

I sit at the top of the tree, there’s not many people that sit at the top of the tree that look like me. And because I sit at the top of the tree, when I say something, a lot of the time it’s listened to. It’s important to use your voice but use it in a way that is affirmative. I remember in one interview, there was an amazing Black woman who came for her interview, but I could just see the anxiety for the chair and them thinking, “How do I manage this person?” They would have seen her as difficult to control. But it was difficult to see the number of Black people who were dying, including people working within the NHS. It was more about showing solidarity with Black members of staff and with Black patients. I want young people in schools to know that there are people who look like them in positions of power. From my perspective, having the experience of an African heritage person is a really important part of your qualification to serve. It shouldn’t necessarily be the case that I’m one of the first or one of the few. It’s in our systems, it’s in our cultures, it’s in our thinking, so we have to actively push against it and dismantle it. Don’t treat people’s life experience like it’s just this kind of baggage, it’s actually something that can be channelled into a skill and give you perspective and nuance. Now that I’m able to have those conversations, I’m aware that they would have had projects to increase diversity, but then the funding gets cut or the project comes to an end, and it’s not sustainable.

Looking for Work Outside London? Manchester Has Higher Jobs ... (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg Reed Jobs Report Manchester Beats London as Best Place for New Jobs in England. Bloomberg analyzed millions of job postings to identify England's post ...

“Unless you can really boost the growth of the 14 places that have half a million people or more in the UK, it will not change the national picture,” he says. “As the reputation for science and technology and skills grew, that drew more businesses in. “That decline was not matched by the growth of the service sector in Birkenhead, and inward investment was scarce,” he says. “It has a first-class university, and half the students who graduate remain local — the national average.” O’Neill says that where jobs are thin on the ground, “there remains this sort of emotional attachment to bringing back the old days. The quality of those jobs is also important, in order to truly improve prosperity. With Sunak facing the prospect of a general election next year, the pressure is on to find ways of reviving Britain’s neglected places. “Clusters of expertise and investment exist across the UK, challenging the notion of a strict north-south divide,” said James Reed, chairman of Reed Recruitment. “We have a highly collaborative culture where I’m often in the same room as business and the universities. Few would say the Kent town of Gillingham is deprived, yet it falls towards the end of the table since many of its residents commute to London for work. Bloomberg analyzed millions of job advertisements handled by the firm Reed Recruitment in England from 2018 to March 2023. Beyond a higher concentration of job advertisements in Manchester, there’s little evidence that openings are spreading more widely.

Manchester urged to act on 'scandalous' lack of Black people in ... (The Guardian)

In city where they make up 14.8% of the population, Black people occupy just 4.6% of top public positions, analysis finds.

[methodology](https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/24/how-did-we-create-the-list-of-britains-1000-most-powerful-people) reflects that used by the Guardian/Operation Black Vote for our 2017 [Colour of Power series](https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/series/the-colour-of-power). He said: “We agree that there should be more black Mancunians and members of other ethnic groups in the most influential positions across the city. It also works with the organisations that are taking part to ensure they gain a better understanding of systemic inequalities, and how to support people from minoritised backgrounds to achieve their ambitions and their potential. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, said: “I think it’s clear to anyone that, despite the progress we’ve made, the country as a whole has got a long way to go to ensure that Black communities are properly represented in civic life. “Part of the answer from that commission was to set up a Black, Asian and minority ethnic leadership project, the type of which we’ve done in Liverpool and Bristol. This will help employers know that they are treating the staff fairly, and to implement action plans where there are issues to address to improve diversity, including by eliminating bias in recruitment or promotion.” The Black representation in arts bodies was 10% of the sample, while Black representation at university boards stood at 5.9%. But in equity terms, something is clearly broken and it must make many Mancunians deeply uncomfortable to know they’re being shown the way by London, Bristol and, of course, their old friends in Liverpool.” During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Lord Woolley was invited to play a key role in the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). It analysed leading organisations in different fields as part of a sample that would provide a snapshot of the state of ethnic representation within a city; the included organisations were therefore not an exhaustive list. In 2021, a country-wide analysis carried out by Operation Black Vote found that of a list of 1,100 powerful figures, 6.3% were from ethnic minorities, with only 19 (1.6%) BAME women. While 6.3% of Manchester’s city councillors were Black, the city has yet to elect a Black MP.

What's on in Manchester in April (My Manchester News)

There's so much to check out this month to get your culture fix! Haven't visited the John Rylands Library yet? Why not check out the Worker's Playtime ...

[Tea Meditation Ceremony](https://www.visitmanchester.com/whats-on/tea-meditation-ceremony-p729771) on 24 April. [Easter Adventures in Nature at Lyme Park](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/lyme/events/cc02ed31-a970-4802-a602-546e69a2c4fa) from 1-16 April. [Manchester’s Amateur Gaming League](https://cultplex.eventive.org/films/6391fe24e4c2e2004bb70375) at Cultplex. [Manchester Academy](https://www.manchesteracademy.net/), including Old Dirty Brasstards, a 10 piece pop-punk orchestra, Limp Bizkit and Hayley Kiyoko. [second-hand book sale at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House](https://www.visitmanchester.com/whats-on/second-hand-book-sale-at-elizabeth-gaskells-house-p385851) on 9 April. From fiction to cookery to art and so much more, with new stock every month there are treasures to be found. Designed for you to experience the joy of gaming on the big screen, you’ll play in your team of 4 in a series of console and PC based challenges. The above not taking your fancy? There are spots all over the city where you can enjoy the blossom, including our very own campus! Manchester’s always got something to explore and April is no different. There’s so much to check out this month to get your culture fix! If it’s caught you off-guard then don’t worry, we’ve put together our guide to what’s going in Manchester in April to help you.

Manchester leaders want 'decisive action' over TransPennine ... (Manchester Evening News)

TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast have faced calls for their contracts to be axed due to their performance.

[TPE cancelled almost a quarter of all its trains in a month, including more than 1,000 the night before](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/transpennine-express-cancelled-almost-a-26264536) they were due to run. [Click here to sign up to the BusinessLive North West newsletter](https://www.business-live.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/) [Manchester apartment block owner racked up £40m of debt before collapsing into administration](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/manchester-apartment-block-owner-racked-26604356) [The billionaire who snapped up The Midland is eyeing up more of Manchester](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/billionaire-who-snapped-up-midland-26537908) [Customers brand TalkTalk worst major broadband provider in new Which? "Cancellations continue at an unacceptable level, impacting the day-to-day running of businesses of every size. "We understand that TPE has submitted a Recovery Plan to the Department. Matthew Golton said of what he called TPE's 'recent delivery': "We know it's not been good enough. This option must be on the table for TPE. Each month this continues is eroding confidence in the UK as a place to invest. And is certainly not one our member businesses and their employees can rely on. This is not acceptable given what we have experienced to date. "This is not even approaching an adequate service. "A further 575 trains were cancelled on the day. "Decisive action" over TransPennine Express (TPE) has been called for by a group of Manchester business leaders as they voiced their "deep concern" over its "ongoing, unacceptable performance and the impact it is having on the region's economy".

Things to do in Greater Manchester in April (Manchester Evening News)

From Easter egg hunts to photography exhibitions, here are some of things going on in Greater Manchester this month.

All you need to do is visit the Heaton Park reception based in the tunnel at the stable block and follow the map to locate clues that will help you solve the puzzle. [For more of the latest What's On news, click here.](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/) Check out the Spring Into Cring Easter event at Cringle Park on April 7 from 11am to 4pm, which will feature an Easter egg treasure hunt, music and food. For more information and to get tickets, visit the festival's To help you locate these beautiful blooms the National Trust has created an interactive map you can follow. There’s an activity sheet and a small prize you can collect from Fog Lane Park café. Power UP is running daily from April 1 to April 16. Her work will be shown in a retrospective exhibition, Photographing the Invisible, at Manchester Central Library from April 15. Accompanying the photos is an audio tour narrated by Jill, which will take them behind the scenes of her images. If we are treated with some sunny days, one way to make the most of them is to follow the Bloomtown blossom trail across the city. Heaton Park is hosting one again this year, while you take part in a bunny hunt at Fog Lane Park. Or perhaps it will live up to its reputation and give us lots of rain instead.

Cotton capital: how slavery made Manchester the world's first ... (The Guardian)

A visual exploration of historical Manchester's rapid growth into a “shock city” – and how slavery was key to the emergence of Cottonopolis.

The number of cotton mills peaked at 108 in 1853, the year Manchester was granted city status. The addresses are compiled from Manchester directories between 1781 and 1800 and include all Manchester suppliers to 50 voyages owned by the Liverpool trafficker William Davenport, all businesses in the directories specifically listed as focusing on the African market, and the well-documented slave trade suppliers the Hibberts, Touchets, and Rawlinsons. Manchester also gained parliamentary representation that year, electing Mark Philips, cousin to the Guardian founder and enslaver George Philips, although only one-fifth of adult men were eligible to vote. The annual US cotton crop grew from 9,000 bales to 210,000 between 1790 and 1800. Manchester’s first was established at Shudehill in 1782, followed by the Salvin’s and Piccadilly mills in the late 1780s. From that moment, the spread of the plantation slavery complex across North America and the booming Lancashire textile industry became symbiotically linked. Important centres of Irish residence included Angel Meadow and Little Ireland, near the Chorlton Mills complex. Seminal historian Eric Williams, who later became the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, outlined in 1944 how it was a “tremendous dependence on the triangular trade that made Manchester”. Converted to today’s prices that is £26.9m of exports and £40.3m of investment a year. With an established skills base and trade links in textile manufacture, Manchester was ideally positioned to meet this demand and the town started to expand. A few remnants of the pre-industrial market town remain around the Cathedral Quarter while the grand late-Victorian warehouses and civic architecture recall a time when cotton was king and Manchester was its capital. As technology advanced, manufacturing moved from the home to mass production, bringing increased transport capacity and connectivity across the globe.