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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello and welcome,
I’m back after a lovely week off. I spent it first, watching Neighbours: The Celebration Tour at The Bridgewater Hall - where I rambled incoherently to patient soap stars - and then in the capital, where I angered a Londoner by standing still.
Thanks so much to Adam Maidment and Tom Molloy for taking over newsletter duties in my absence.
In today’s edition, we’ll be looking at chief reporter Neal Keeling’s piece about Andy Spinoza. He’s one of Manchester’s best-known journalists and a PR guru who says the city from ‘punk to the pandemic’ has had an extraordinary transformation that is ‘underappreciated’ in London.
We’ll also be talking about the new powers that look set to be announced for Greater Manchester in this week's budget and the junior doctors' strike. Let’s begin.
Through the eyes of ‘Spin’
There is, perhaps understandably, often a fatigue which comes with the mention of The Hacienda. Plenty of Mancs are sick of hearing about it. Especially given the breadth of music which came out of the city before and after those ‘Madchester’ days.
But journalist Andy Spinoza makes a key point in his interview with chief reporter Neal Keeling. He says the nightclub triggered a renaissance which blew away the city's malaise and led to a liberalisation of the city's archaic interpretation of the licensing laws - which in turn enticed entrepreneurs and, crucially, wads of government cash.
In his new book Manchester Unspun, he talks about the ‘fatal post-industrial tailspin’ of the 1970s and how developers such as Urban Splash’s Tom Bloxham and visionary Carol Ainscow went on to transform long abandoned buildings into desirable spaces for a new generation. Key to all this was The Hacienda, he argues.
"While the city's leaders may not all have been ‘down with the kids’ type geezers who loved the music and hung out at The Hacienda - although Graham Stringer and Pat Karney did go once and that was quite funny - they appreciated this homegrown, authentic culture bubbling up from the streets. It gave Manchester a special sauce that other cities just didn't have.
“Quite rightly they exploited it to say 'this is an interesting place'. People around the world got the idea through music, Factory Records sleeves, and photography.
"Manchester was not only a significant city in world history - which had declined - they were frighteningly serious about the mission to regenerate the city. Because under this front of being a left-wing council they were quite happy to do deals with Conservative governments to get what they wanted, which was money into Manchester.”
Andy says that from Hulme and Michael Heseltine right up to George Osborne praising Factory Records in Parliament, Manchester’s leaders became good at competing for funds. “Manchester has always had a better shake out of the Tories than Labour,” he says. “They even had to go to a high level game of poker to get the Blair government to fund the Commonwealth Games properly.”
During the 1980s, Andy worked at the Manchester Evening News Diary page, but before that he co-founded the underground alternative City Life - old copies of which proved vital when researching his book. When he jumped ship to public relations, forming his own company, Spin Media, he landed contracts to represent key movers and shakers.
Asked by Neal if he 'sold his soul' to work for the architects of a new Manchester, Andy says: "You’re asking the man who introduced Peter Hook to the property firm which bought The Hacienda name from him for the apartments on the site of the club. That’s the one deal which could be said to symbolise the entire transformation. I did that as a favour without asking for any money. So you could be asking the same question of many people who have done well out of the changes in Manchester.
"Hooky obviously saw no problem, and Tony Wilson went on TV to say ‘nostalgia is a disease’ – he was saying ‘cities change, bring on the future’ when the building was demolished. So, if by playing a part in promoting Manchester and its movers and shakers, I sold my soul, then you could say, 'so have countless others - and so has the city itself'."
You can read the full, fascinating piece here.
The trailblazer deal
Greater Manchester is expected to be handed significantly greater powers this week. Both Andy Burnham and West Midlands mayor Andy Street have been in talks with the government about ‘trailblazer’ deals, which have now been finalised according to The Times.
The plan - expected to be announced in Jeremy Hunt’s budget this week - will see the two regions operate like Whitehall departments when they are handed billions to spend as they wish.
As part of the next stage of devolution in Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham has long held an ambition for greater control over trains, powers to punish rogue landlords and more influence over college funding.
As Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan explains, the Labour mayor has also called for more streamlined funding, suggesting a single block grant similar to the financial arrangements in Scotland and Wales.
Joseph has been looking at what new powers Greater Manchester wants and what it could get here.
Is the 'Superfare' scheme fair?
Avanti bosses are trying to lure passengers back onto their trains with an interesting scheme.
Customers will be able to purchase a cheaper single ticket between London and Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston - but they will only be informed of their travel time 24 hours before.
The Superfare scheme involves customers buying a ticket for a particular date and specifying they want to travel in the morning, afternoon or evening, the PA news agency reports. Around 24 hours before their journey, Avanti West Coast will match ticket-holders to a quieter service and inform them of their departure time.
Tickets with Avanti West Coast must be booked between seven and 21 days in advance, with fares fixed between £12 and £22.
The number of journeys made on Britain’s railways remains around a fifth below pre-Covid levels, resulting in billions of pounds in lost revenue each year.
'The only way to attract people is to pay them properly'
Tens of thousands of junior doctors - including staff at every major hospital in Greater Manchester - walked out today as part of industrial action.
Picket lines are in force at all the major hospitals across the region, starting on Monday morning and scheduled to last 72 hours. 'Thousands of patients' are expected to face postponements to routine care, including appointments and operations in both hospitals and GP surgeries, health service bosses have warned.
The British Medical Associations and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association strike is the longest continuous period of industrial action in recent months. Junior doctors are asking for a pay increase to make up for 15 years of inflation, along with better working conditions.
In this piece, Dr Naru Narayanan explains why NHS staff are joining the picket line. Dr Narayanan, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist nurse, says: “The government is not blind to us needing more medical staff, but the only way to attract people is to pay them properly. Medics spend six years doing a very intensive course, leave it with £100,000 of debt and then start on £14 an hour.
“That is not right when the level of responsibility they have is enormous. These young doctors haven’t fallen out of love with the profession, but more and more will leave because they feel more valued elsewhere - they'll go to the private sector, or go abroad to Australia or Canada.
“I worry whether we will even have an NHS in the future. Who will look after these people?
“More strike action is inevitable, doctors are angry and fed up. If the government thinks it will all fizzle out, they are wrong. Senior and junior doctors are in this together. Senior doctors will be looking after critical and emergency care on the strike days so that will be covered."
Fancy becoming a magistrate?
People are being asked to consider becoming magistrates in Greater Manchester.
Applications for the role are open as The Judiciary of England and Wales and the Ministry of Justice work to attract a wave of volunteers who are ‘even more representative of the community they serve’.
No legal qualifications or experience is required to be a magistrate, but volunteers will work closely with two other magistrates and a legal advisor, who offers guidance on the law.
Anyone aged between 18 and 70 who can commit to at least 13 days a year for at least five years is encouraged to come forward.
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Weather etc
- Tuesday: Yellow weather warning of snow and ice. 7C.
- Road closures: M67 Eastbound entry slip road closed due to long-term roadworks at J2 St Annes Road (Denton). Until December 1, 2025.
- A669 Lees Road in both directions closed due to water main work between B6194 Cross Street and Moorhey Street. Until March 15.
- Trivia question: Which MP represents New Islington?
Manchester headlines
- Bridge: An enormous 90-tonne bridge was successfully lifted into place in Stockport over the weekend, connecting the town’s train station to its soon-to-be-built transport interchange. The vast Cor-Ten-Steel pedestrian and cycling bridge was carefully manoeuvred into its final position over Daw Bank using a 750-tonne crane. Because of its sheer size, the bridge was initially delivered in two pieces before being assembled into one complete structure on site. The bridge is set to open in spring 2024, when the interchange will open its doors.
Snowstorm: Terrified passengers were in 'flood of tears' as a 'trainee pilot' was forced to abort a landing at Manchester Airport during a snowstorm. The TUI flight from Tenerife was due to arrive at around 8pm on Thursday - but the pilot was forced to divert the jet to East Midlands instead due to the extreme weather conditions. Several passengers were 'screaming and crying' as the plane was buffeted around in the 'awful' turbulence as Storm Larisa battered the UK. Passenger Gareth Salter said: "People were panicking, babies were screaming, women were crying. There were some young girls behind us in floods of tears.” More here.
- Printworks: An artwork set to cover a huge section of the iconic Printworks has been unveiled as the £22m redevelopment of the building steams ahead. The work, by Manchester based artist Alex Sylt, was unveiled by Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, at an event over the weekend. The illustration features many references to Manchester's rich history and the Printworks building itself - which celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. The artworks will be placed on the 'Nuffield tower' wall which covers 215 sqm and should coincide with the digital artwork ceiling, which will be the biggest of its kind in Europe. More here.
- Covid rates: Around one in 14 hospital beds in Greater Manchester are currently occupied by patients with Covid, the latest figures have revealed. As of Tuesday, March 7, 354 of the region's approximately 5,000 hospital beds were occupied by patients with the virus. There were also 33 people in 'general and acute' hospital beds and three in 'critical care' beds with flu. In total, about 98 per cent of Greater Manchester's hospital beds are currently occupied. People aged 75 and over, those in care homes and anyone aged five and over who is immunosuppressed would be offered a spring Covid-19 booster jab.
Worth a read
The Warburton toll bridge, with its archaic 12p charge each way, has long been a source of complaints for locals in Cheshire. Now there’s talk of the charge increasing to £1 as part of Peel Ports’ plans for a £6.5 million upgrade to approach roads, footpaths and the tolling system.
Locals would be offered a 50 per cent discount, but the price hike - the first in 130 years - is causing concern.
Reporter Tom George has been speaking to residents in Warburton about possible changes to the only route across the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal between the M6 and M60 motorways. Tom admits he was sweating a bit before reaching the toll booth - which does not accept cards - wondering if he had the correct change.
"I drive over the bridge at least once a day," says resident Steve Ellis. "If they put it up to a quid, it's going to cost me £4 or £5 a day. It all mounts up. They say they can't afford to upkeep it but the turnover of that bridge must be in the millions."
You can read the full piece here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Lucy Powell.
