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Hello,
We have just about dodged a recession - but it won’t feel that way for many of us.
The Office for National Statistics recorded 0.0 per cent growth in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022 - anything below zero would have pushed the economy into recession. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says the UK is ‘not out of the woods’ but claims the economy is ‘more resilient than many feared’.
But the National Institute of Economic and Social Research told POLITICO ‘this year will feel like a recession for many, regardless of the data’. “A focus on the economic crisis faced by most of the British population, rather than technicalities, offers a more insightful perspective,” NIESR economist Paula Bejarano Carbo said.
On to the rest of today’s news.
We have more detail on that meeting between Awaab Ishak’s parents and Michael Gove, we’ll be looking at changes to train tickets and talking to the man who is pioneering 'dry raves'.
‘We are finally starting to feel like we are being treated fairly’
Awaab Ishak’s dad says the support of the tens of thousands of people who have backed Awaab's Law has stopped his family 'feeling alone'.
Faisal Abdullah’s two-year-old son died in December 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould in a home run by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
Mr Abdullah and his wife Aisha Amin met with housing secretary Michael Gove in Rochdale yesterday.
“My wife and I still struggle to deal with the loss of our son, but we are finally starting to feel like we are being treated fairly,” he said. "We hope that Awaab's Law will help stop any other family going through the pain we have gone through. We would not wish this pain on anybody.”
Awaab's Law is now a step closer to becoming a reality with the government set to amend a Bill in Parliament to meet much of the campaign's demands. After meeting the toddler’s parents in Rochdale on Thursday, Mr Gove said social housing tenants should now get 'peace of mind’.
"This government is absolutely committed to saying - if you are renting, if you're a social tenant or in the private rented sector, we are on your side in making sure that your home - which should always be warm, safe and decent - will be improved under this government," the minister told reporter Stephen Topping.
The campaign has called for damp and mould reports to be inspected within 14 days, with repairs carried out in seven days when a risk to health is identified. The law change put forward by the government doesn't set specific timeframes yet. But Mr Gove says those suggested in the campaign are probably the right ones to use and changes could be implemented ‘in a matter of months’.
He says the law will now ‘insist’ landlords visit tenants worried about problems and solve the issues within a specific time limit.
No High Court action on Longmire
With serial rapist Andrew Barlow set to be released from prison, the government has confirmed it will not take High Court action against the decision.
Justice Minister Dominic Raab asked the Parole Board to reconsider their recommendation that Barlow - formerly Andrew Longmire - should be released from prison. But the Board stuck by its original decision.
As chief reporter Neal Keeling writes, victims and their families have urged the government to take High Court action to prevent Longmire's release, by seeking a judicial review of the Parole Board's decision. But the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that no further action will be taken.
Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer today accused Mr Raab of ‘abdicating his responsibility’. But the MOJ said such a move was not possible as the test for proving the decision was flawed via a judicial review was higher than that required for a reconsideration by the Parole Board.
Barlow, 66, was given 13 life sentences for two campaigns of rape in the 1980s. He was dubbed the Coronation Street rapist after attacking women, often in their own homes, in terraced houses across Greater Manchester and the north.
Getting train tickets
If you’ve tried to get a train to London in the last few months, you'll know how tough it can be to get advance tickets.
However the rail regulator says it has 'secured key improvements' to how passengers travelling with Avanti West Coast plan and book their journeys. The Office of Rail and Road has welcomed a 'more resilient recovery plan' revealed by Avanti and said the company has also published on its website the dates for when tickets are to be released for sale.
However the ORR say Avanti's 'more resilient recovery plan' will only see timetabling 'in line with current industry norms by mid-May'.
Firefighters call off strike action
Strikes by firefighters have been postponed after crunch talks resulted in an improved pay offer - but Greater Manchester crews suggested it may not be enough to avert industrial action.
The Fire Brigades Union had rejected an initial two per cent pay rise, and then an improved offer of five percent. As a result crews were balloted and voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action.
But after negotiations with employers, the FBU said it had been offered a seven percent pay rise backdated to July 2022, and then five percent from July this year. It will now ballot members to see if this is acceptable.
As Neal Keeling reports, the new pay offer may still not be enough to satisfy crews. One firefighter said: "The 5 per cent was a non starter, when you take into account the cost of living. If we were to get the same kind of offer which is being suggested for London firefighters - 11 per cent - we would get back round the table."
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, recently said firefighters are 'struggling with the cost of living crisis' following a 'raw pay deal'.
A team of senior fire officers known as ‘chaperones’ will be used to tackle front-line incidents in the event of crews going on strike in Greater Manchester. They will be joined by ‘stand-in’ firefighters recruited partly in case of industrial action.
Skyrocketing costs
It’s been a turbulent time for Greater Manchester’s hospitality industry with a number of venues unable to survive amid soaring energy and ingredient costs.
The latest casualty is The Northern Quarter’s Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun, which has announced its shock closure. The team behind the restaurant - which served some of the best ramen in the city in my opinion - say they are heartbroken.
"The business has been under massive financial strain, that we have unfortunately been unable to pull ourselves out of. The obstacles that have been affecting everyone in the hospitality industry right now,” they said in a statement.
"The cost of goods skyrocketing. Energy bills more than doubling. They're all massive factors and they've all made it extremely difficult to continue doing what we love, without compromising on quality.
Meanwhile, in Cheshire, Gary Usher has defended a decision to price a burger at his White Horse pub at £19.50.
The chef says “...we source the ingredients, the very best ingredients. We get all our own raw ingredients, we add them up then take that into account then work out the percentage that covers all of our costs. That’s how we came up with the cost of the menu item. That’s why the burger is £19.”
Usher says those complaining about the pub’s prices don’t have to visit the venue, in the village of Churton.
Is this the most Wigan-centred pie of all time? The team at Baldy’s Pies have come up with a lamb and Uncle Joe's Mint Ball flavour pie, as Ben Arnold writes.
The concoction has been described as the ‘ultimate’ Wigan pie, flavoured as it is with specially made liquid mint ball flavouring to celebrate 125 years of the legendary sweet.
Baldy’s owner Alex Melling says there’s ‘quite a significant difference’ between fresh mint and peppermint, ‘so it was hard trying to get the balance’.
But he’s so confident he hopes to put his inventions forward to the British Pie Awards next month.
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Weather etc
- Saturday: Overcast. 10C.
- Road closures: One lane closed due to carriageway repairs on M56 in both directions between J7 A556 Chester Road (Bowdon) and J5 (Manchester Airport) until February 18.
- A5067 Chorlton Road inbound closed due to water main work between Jackson Crescent and A57(M) Mancunian Way Chester Road Roundabout until February 10.
- Trains: Revised service on Transpennine Express between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield due to engineering works on Sunday February 12.
- Trivia question: Which fashion designer, who died late last year, was born in Tintwistle?
Manchester headlines
Lates: Manchester Museum is launching a new series of film and music nights called ‘Museum Lates’. The museum will open until 9pm each Wednesday from February 22. The first Museum Lates night then happens on March 8, when it will be hosting a special film night. Held to coincide with International Women’s Day, three of the museum’s galleries will be screening movies. The fossils gallery will be screening Kate Winslet movie Ammonite, about pioneering fossil hunter Mary Anning. More here.
Occupied: Students occupying buildings across the University of Manchester have entered their second day of protest over soaring rent prices. Around 50 students have occupied three university buildings, understood to be the Engineering building, the Samuel Alexander building, and the 'high security' senior management John Owens buildings - where the Vice Chancellor is located. They are calling for university bosses to meet their demands for lower rent, as well as the demands of the current industrial action by the UCU.
Overweight: A Trafford councillor has said the number of 'overweight NHS staff' is a clear indication that there is a nutrition problem among the wider population in the borough. Conservative Michael Whetton admitted to his own weight control issues when he told the borough's health and wellbeing board what he had noticed locally. Commenting after Trafford’s director of public health Eleanor Roaf had delivered her annual report he said: “I can't help but notice - and I'm probably going to get shot to ribbons for saying this - it's clear that a lot of NHS staff are carrying a lot of weight. So if that's the case, it's clearly a problem in the general population." More here.
Antisemitism: A Jewish man was abused by a cyclist who shouted 'f***ing Jew, Hitler is coming' as he was walking home in Manchester, a staggering report into antisemitism has revealed. The Community Security Trust uncovered a concerning new trend during the last year, in which a high number of anti-Jewish abuse was directed towards children. There were more antisemitic incidents in 2022 that celebrated and glorified the Holocaust (79 incidents) than those that denied it (19 incidents). And there were 56 antisemitic incidents reported to CST in 2022 that took place in the context of professional football. Read the full details here
Worth a read
Ben Riley’s sober club nights are now so popular he’s got his sights set on Boy George and Fatboy Slim for future events. But things haven’t always been so easy for the man behind DryWave.
Over the past 25 years, Ben has been homeless, a successful club promoter and record label owner, addicted to crack and heroin, a rapper, an MC, an alcoholic, a convicted shoplifter and more recently the director of a community interest company.
What’s On writer Ben Arnold has been talking to him about his road to recovery and how a chance meeting at Stockport’s Grand Central changed his life.
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: Vivienne Westwood
