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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
What is it about the start of the week that makes me crave a new Prime Minister? I really should cut down - it can’t be good for my health. Oh go on then, let’s have one more.
Rishi Sunak was this afternoon announced as the latest Tory leader, less than two months after he lost a seemingly endless leadership campaign to Liz Truss. The ex-Chancellor will become the first British Asian Prime Minister in UK history and the youngest for more than 200 years.
Mr Sunak - who previously warned of catastrophe over Ms Truss’s tax-cutting agenda - says the UK faces a 'profound economic challenge'. There are certainly a few things we’d like him to take a look at here in Greater Manchester.
In today’s newsletter, as we welcome a new PM, we’ll be looking at some of the biggest issues facing our region right now, including homelessness, poverty and a crumbling rail system.
There will be families begging
“The number of people looking for a hot meal has gone through the roof. It’s untenable for us to cater for everyone. We always said we would but we just cannot anymore. How can you support rough sleepers when we have people in accommodation who cannot eat?”
It’s a question facing the staff at Barnabus each day as homelessness increases in Manchester. And CEO Yvonne Hope says the worst is yet to come.
“The number of homeless families is going up and we are finding it harder and harder to get them any accommodation. We have one family where we had to ask them to sit in the Central Library,” she told reporter Ethan Davies, who has been taking an in-depth look at the city’s homelessness problem.
Shockingly, Yvonne says the number of families and older people who are becoming homeless is going up, meaning there could soon be a rough sleeping population ‘from five to 85’. And she’s made a chilling prediction for the coming months.
“I think, honestly, there will be families begging. There will be kids that do not go to school or are only going there for food, but cannot take part because they are suffering from malnutrition.”
As concerns for low-income families grow, Manchester’s rough sleeping population, sadly, remains a constant. People huddled in sleeping bags beneath doorways remain a common sight in the city centre and beyond, but life has become even harder for them since the pandemic.
“It’s got busier. It’s been hard, sleeping in doorways. People think it’s funny and can p**s on you. The scrotes are setting fire to you and your tent and sleeping bag. That was about two years ago for me. I smelled it, got out, but then it went up,” rough sleeper Colin tells Ethan.
Stuart Cody, 37, says it’s particularly difficult to find accommodation if you’re part of a couple and things get worse at Christmas. “We get all the junkies and alcies that come out even if they have a property. Since Covid, no one has been carrying change with them,” he says.
It’s a trend Justin Green has also noticed. “It’s impossible to make money at the moment. Everything is on card. I have not got a bank account. It’s getting cold now so people feel sorry for you and they notice you more, but my B&B is full up every night with homeless people.”
Struggling beyond words
Hospital staff are being offered food bank vouchers as the cost of living crisis starts to bite. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust - which runs Stepping Hill Hospital - says it 'can now issue Stockport Food Bank vouchers to anyone who is struggling' in an internal email to staff.
Basic provisions like bread, fruit and veg and emergency three-day food parcels are offered by food banks.
It seems extraordinary that NHS workers - the people who held the country together during the pandemic - may now have to resort to charity to make ends meet. It’s perhaps unsurprising that some of the lowest earners need this help. But one junior doctor has claimed he is also struggling, despite earning north of £29,000 a year.
“I’m struggling beyond words to afford to live, let alone live comfortably. I’m on 30 percent less than my equivalent in 2008," they told health reporter Helena Vesty.
The doctor suggested hospital bosses could get rid of parking fees to help staff. "At such a time of inequality, rising costs and falling healthcare workforce numbers, not to mention the stress and exhaustion from working a pandemic whilst everyone worked from home safely, we’re rewarded with a national insurance rise, licence to practice fees, malpractice insurance, union membership… and we also get the privilege of paying for parking to work,” they said, adding: “You don’t go into this job for the money, but there’s a misconception that doctors are paid much more than we are."
The trust said parking charges were reinstated to ensure maintaining costs do not eat into patient care funding.
£60m and counting
Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone has cost £62m so far - even though it’s not yet gone ahead.
Plans to charge the most polluting taxis, vans, lorries and buses were paused earlier this year following a public backlash. Local leaders are now calling for all charges to be scrapped - favouring an incentive-led scheme which they argue will be enough to lower pollution.
They still need the government to sign off the latest proposal.
Local democracy reporter Joseph Timan has been looking at the costs around the controversial scheme and has broken down the figures.
He reports that the scheme - which is supposed to be funded by the government - is now facing a £13m shortfall as there is currently no money coming in from charges.
More than £20m has been spent so far, including a £120,000 payment to contractor J McCann & Co Limited for 'under review' stickers and £3.5m to Egis for 407 Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.
It costs £375,000 a month to keep the cameras on. These day-to-day costs were supposed to be covered by the revenue generated from the charges, but are now forecast to total £7m by March 2023.
Meanwhile, Transport for Greater Manchester says it needs another £4m from the government for the additional feasibility work, which has cost £30m so far, and another £2m for the financial support scheme.
Clean Air GM said all costs to date have been covered by and agreed with government, with no cost requirement or contribution from local authorities in Greater Manchester.
Irony alert
There’s a huge ‘disappointed dad’ energy pulsating from this image of Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram. The two mayors were on their way to Liverpool Lime Street for a press briefing about train cancellations but were late because their train was cancelled on Saturday morning. They couldn’t have planned it better if they tried.
Mr Burnham and Mr Rotheram are calling for action over rail chaos that has been plaguing passengers for months.
Operator TransPennine Express cancelled 55 trains in just a single day last week after announcing a temporary timetable leading to reduced services. Meanwhile Avanti West Coast - which has been criticised for a slew of cancellations and delays - has been given a six-month extension to turn things around.
Last week, Manchester Council leader Bev Craig made another impassioned plea for change. “In an era of hyperbole, I cannot state enough the damage that our inadequate rail networks are inflicting on our residents, commuters and businesses in Manchester & beyond. The Secretary of State for Transport needs to take a firm grip and regain control,” she tweeted.
The mayors want a 'quality intercity train service' with 'real change and improvement' on the railways. Add it to the list please, Mr Sunak.
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Weather etc
- Tuesday: Cloudy changing to light rain by night. 16C.
- Road closures: A665 Bolton Road in both directions closed due to resurfacing work between Wordsworth Avenue and Unsworth Street until November 4.
- A6017 Berrycroft Lane in both directions closed due to water main work between Ruskin Grove and Warwick Road until October 25.
- Trains: Special timetable operating on Transpennine Express and Avanti West Coast due to shortage of train crews.
- Trivia question: Rishi Sunak is only the second Conservative prime minister representing a constituency in the North of England. Who was the first?
Manchester headlines
Conditions lifted: A beauty doctor dubbed the 'Queen of Botox' who was investigated by a medical watchdog has been cleared to work without strict conditions on her practice. Dr Nyla Raja has built a multi-million pound empire thanks to the success of her 'Medispas' in Wilmslow and Alderley Edge. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service imposed 'interim conditions' on the former GP following the launch of an investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) last year. Those conditions have now been lifted, meaning she is free to practice without the conditions which had previously been in place. More here.
Banned: An experienced teacher who slapped a pupil and then ‘repeatedly lied’ about it has been banned from the classroom. Angela Bryer, 60, was working at St Edmunds RC Primary School in Miles Platting when she struck the boy. He had been brought to her by a teaching assistant after ‘misbehaving in class’ when she ‘slapped him across the left side of his face’. The teacher told both the boy's class teacher and one of his parents that the physical contact had been an accident. A teaching assistant since gave a statement confirming the boy's version of events. Details have been disclosed in a report by the Teaching Regulation Agency which has now issued a prohibition order meaning Mrs Bryer is now unable to teach for at least the next three years.
Shortage: The NHS Blood and Transplant service has declared its first-ever amber alert due to a lack of supplies. In Greater Manchester the service is hamstrung by chronic staff shortages. Hospitals have been told to implement plans to protect their stocks, meaning non-urgent operations requiring blood could be postponed to ensure they are prioritised for patients who need them most. More here.
Consulate: A member of staff at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester has alleged he was 'choked' and 'briefly lost consciousness' when violence flared outside its gates during a protest. Consul Gao Lianjia spoke at a press conference today hosted by the consulate and the Chinese Embassy in the UK, claiming in a statement he read out that his life was put at risk. Violent scenes flared during a pro-Hong Kong democracy rally outside the consulate in Rusholme on Sunday, October 16. Police are investigating the assault of a man who they say was 'dragged into the grounds' of the compound and attacked. The protester - Bob Chan - said he was 'shocked' the incident took place on British soil and denied claims that he tried to enter the grounds of the consulate on Denison Road. The consulate claims two members of its staff were assaulted.
Worth a read
Most Mancs will have enjoyed at least one meal at Sanam - a fixture of Rusholme’s Curry Mile.
Abdul Akhtar, whose family founded the restaurant, has been speaking to What’s On writer Ben Arnold about how the area has changed over the years.
He says it was only in the late 80s that the strip of Wilmslow Road where his restaurant resides began to transform ‘beyond all recognition’.
“When people see a successful business, other people follow,” he says. “Everybody knew everybody. It was a small community, very friendly. There was no rivalry, we’d help each other out, lend each other whatever they would need,” he says.
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: Arthur Balfour, Manchester East 1902-1905.
