Keep up to date with all the big stories from across Greater Manchester in the daily Mancunian Way newsletter. You can receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by signing up right here.
Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
Previous spats with Nicola Sturgeon did not stop Andy Burnham from wishing her well after she announced her resignation today.
The Greater Manchester mayor was embroiled in a row with the Scottish government over travel rules during the pandemic. But he was quick to offer praise about the First Minister.
He tweeted: “I got to know Nicola Sturgeon when we worked together as Ministers on swine flu in 2009. She impressed me then and has gone on to become [one] of the few truly big political figures of our time. I wish her well in what comes next.”
In today’s Mancunian Way we’ll be discussing a Labour row which has led to nine local politicians quitting their roles. We’ll also be looking at Deansgate’s controversial new ‘bus gate’ and the man bringing a taste of the West Bank to Stalybridge. Let’s begin.
Not on the buses
Londoners are four times as likely to catch the bus as people from Greater Manchester.
That’s according to new figures analysed by data journalist David Dubas-Fisher.
A total of 121 million journeys were made by bus across the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority area last year.
That works out as 42.2 journeys for every local resident - up from 24.1 in 2020/21, but down from 62.7 in 2019/20 before the pandemic.
Despite the recent uplift, the overall trend over the last decade is one of decline - as there were an average of 76.7 journeys per person in 2011/12.
Across England, an average of 50.2 journeys were made per person last year - a fall of 43 per cent compared to 10 years ago.
But in London 167.8 journeys were made per person, the highest rate in the country.
Here in Greater Manchester, leaders hope the long-awaited move to take control of local services will get people back on the buses again.
Andy Burnham says his plans to bring buses under public control will help improve air quality and the new London-style public transport system will encourage more people to use a bus, tram or bike instead of driving.
The Bee Network buses, which will be rolled out across Greater Manchester by 2025, would all meet emissions standards - and around 80 per cent of buses already do.
‘Bus gate' on Deansgate
Speaking of buses, the new 24-hour 'bus gate' is now operational on Deansgate.
It means only buses, taxis and bikes will be able to travel south between the junctions for Blackfriars to King Street West, as Ethan Davies reports.
A two-week bedding-in period means drivers will initially receive a warning notice before £60 Penalty Charge Notices start being issued from February 27.
Manchester Council recently introduced a bus lane on nearby Bridge Street as part of the ongoing plans to ‘improve walking, wheeling and cycling throughout the city centre’.
But people who use their cars for work have said they felt 'discarded'. The restriction means cars can no longer leave the city centre via the road and must take a detour.
Rooted in Salford
The BBC Radio 6 Music Festival is making a permanent home here in Greater Manchester. The event will return to the city next month for the first time in nine years and will be based at Victoria Warehouse from now on.
Samantha Moy, head of BBC Radio 6 Music, said the station 'will be rooted in Salford over time, so we're bringing the festival back home to Greater Manchester, where it all began, with some incredible performances'.
Andy Burnham hailed the move as 'great news'.
Airport journeys
Manchester Airport has had its busiest start to the year since the start of the coronavirus lockdowns with around 1.6m people travelling through the airport in January.
That’s more than double the 750,000 that passed through in 2022, the airport said.
In January 2020 almost 1.8m passengers used the airport, although that figure was affected by the collapse of Thomas Cook. The UK shut its borders in March 2020, after which passengers numbers plunged, as Damon Wilkinson reports.
One of the many visitors to Manchester Airport this year was Ralph - a three-year-old Cavapoo.
The pup vanished while out on a walk with his owner Georgia Crewe on Monday. Little did she know he had hitched a lift in a taxi which was on its way to pick up a family in North Wales, as Kieran Isgin reports.
When the driver noticed, he couldn't spot any identification markings, so took him along for the ride to the airport, before taking him back to his home in Flintshire.
Georgia wrote an appeal on Facebook which was spotted by a woman who said Ralph had been on a 100-mile trip to Manchester Airport in her friend's taxi.
“I was quite impressed that he had the sense to jump in the cab,” Georgia said. “He loves people, and he’s not afraid of anybody. So he just jumped in.”
Labour row over ‘London clique’
Nine leading members of the Labour Party in Bolton have quit their roles after accusing a ‘London clique’ of dictating the selection process for a Parliamentary candidate.
The members were all part of the Bolton North East branch of the party and formed the selection committee for the Parliamentary constituency.
As local democracy reporter Chris Gee reports, it’s understood they were furious the national Labour Party selected the short-listing of applicants for the candidacy and imposed a three-person list contrary to the wishes of many local party members.
The seat, which was won by Conservative incumbent Mark Logan in 2019, with a majority of just 378 votes, is an essential target seat for the party if they are to make gains on the Tories in the next general election.
Chris understands one of the issues which angered the committee was the absence from the list of chair of North West Labour, Leigh Drennan, who they believe was prevented from standing.
Mr Drennan had been endorsed by Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and several unions for the candidacy. He was pictured canvassing in Bolton with Ms Rayner on Sunday, after the decision not to long list him was made.
The Labour Party say a ‘robust due diligence process’ is in place so candidates are of ‘the highest calibre’.
Taste of the West Bank in Stalybridge
Stalybridge might not be the first place you’d think of when looking for authentic Palestinian cuisine. Nevertheless, it’s being served up there by Yezzan Khalil at his Gladstone Barber and Bistro.
As Ben Arnold writes, Yezzan has been visiting his family on the Palestinian West Bank since he was a baby. And it’s the fresh hummus and falafel he misses most about the place.
“The hummus shops. You’ll send one of the cousins off in the morning, the little ones, with a few quid, and they’ll come back with this tray, decorated with pickled vegetables, spices, olive oil. It’s beautiful. Everything is based around food there. Everywhere you go, you can smell something cooking,” he says.
As a result, he takes the hummus he serves in his restaurant very seriously, importing the sesame seed paste from Lebanon. The falafel, meanwhile, is his dad’s family recipe, as is the specially balanced spice mix for the lamb shawarma.
Ben has been speaking to Yezzen about his family’s influence on his food and how his life as a barber fits into the mix. You can read the full piece here.
Sign up to The Mancunian Way
Has a friend forwarded you this edition of The Mancunian Way? You can sign up to receive the latest email newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by clicking on this link.
Weather etc
- Thursday: Heavy rain changing to overcast by late morning. 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.
- Trivia question: Where was Vivienne Westwood born?
Manchester headlines
Investigation: A police investigation has been launched after pictures were taken inside a court during the sentencing of Dale Cregan's nephew. The images show barristers sitting in a courtroom as Oscar Cregan made an appearance by videolink at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester, it is understood. Some hearings are now televised, but taking photographs or making videos in court can lead to a charge of contempt of court. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed a complaint had been made on January 19 and an investigation was 'active'. A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said it was not currently involved in the matter. More here.
Widespread offence: Social media adverts for life insurance that featured images of killer GP Harold Shipman caused 'serious and widespread offence and unjustified distress', a watchdog has ruled. Paid-for ads for DeadHappy, a life insurance firm based in Leicester, ran on Facebook and Instagram last month. The Advertising Standards Authority has now revealed it received 115 complaints after the Manchester Evening News told how a relative of one of Shipman's victims branded the ads 'despicable and unacceptable'. The ASA said the complainants 'challenged whether the ads irresponsibly caused serious and widespread offence and unjustified distress' and in a published ruling after an investigation, confirmed today their complaints have been upheld. "The ads must not appear again," said the watchdog in its ruling. More here.
School: A new secondary school for children with special educational needs is set to open in East Manchester next year. The free school academy with space for 150 pupils between 11 and 19 years old is set to open in September 2024. The move is a response to rising demand for specialist education in the city and is the second secondary school planned in close proximity. More here.
Posing: A fraudster had been found guilty of posing as a qualified doctor for over twenty years and being paid over £1 million by the NHS after forging a degree certificate. Zholia Alemi, who is believed to be 60, forged the document, along with a letter of verification and handed it to the General Medical Council - the public body responsible for maintaining the official register of general practitioners in the UK. Alemi, of Burnley, who is already convicted of fraud ‘held herself out and practised as a doctor of medicine’, though she had never passed or achieved the relevant university qualification and was not a properly qualified doctor. She will be sentenced on February 28. Full story here.
Worth a read
London Fashion Week begins on Friday, so it’s as good a time as any to read this very personal tribute to the late, great Vivienne Westwood by Manchester Evening News fashion editor Rachel Pugh.
The piece includes lots of fascinating details about the designer’s formative years in Tintwistle and Manchester.
It also details her time at Glossop Grammar School, where she was inspired by her history teacher, Mr Scott and her art teacher, Mr Bell - who advised her to create a folder of her work and taught her 'not to be safe'.
It's a lovely piece, well worth your time.
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.
If you have enjoyed this newsletter today, why not tell a friend how to sign up?
The answer to today's trivia question is: Tintwistle.
