The Mill

09/08/2025

‘Once in a House on Fire’ - Andrea Ashworth's book about growing up in a tough home in Manchester - was a huge hit and the literary world was eagerly waiting for her next one. But years passed, and it never came. So why did she vanish from view?

We tracked her down on the other side of the world to find out.

My search for the author of ‘Once in a House on Fire’ led to the other side of the world - and to a tantalising revelation

12/07/2025

👀 Backstabbing, crying, and a ‘web of deceit’: Inside the fight to get into Trafford’s grammar schools

‘I love my children more than I love the principle of meritocracy, apparently’ says one parent...

‘I love my children more than I love the principle of meritocracy, apparently’

05/07/2025

Inside an abandoned swimming pool turned salon, one hairstyle remains a cut above the rest: the much-maligned and suddenly fashionable mullet.

Inside an abandoned swimming pool turned salon, one hairstyle remains a cut above the rest

19/02/2025

🚨 We can reveal that senior executives at the University of Greater Manchester tried to divert hundreds of thousands in tuition fees into a private company which one of them owns. We've reported our findings to the police.

EXCLUSIVE: Senior executives at the university tried to divert hundreds of thousands in tuition fees into a private company which one of them owns

29/01/2025

🚨 Sacha Lord has resigned as an advisor to Andy Burnham. Lord threatened to sue The Mill last year after we exposed a deeply misleading application for pandemic funding made by one of his companies. Today, the Arts Council has asked for the £400,000 of taxpayers' money back.

The Arts Council wants his company Primary Events to pay back the taxpayers’ money it obtained during the pandemic

11/01/2025

Elon Musk thinks there is a hidden grooming scandal in Oldham and has promoted the idea to his hundreds of millions of followers this week. But if he's right, how come the police can't find it?

This week’s controversy can be traced back to a vicious online campaign that has terrified politicians – but struggled to substantiate its claims

06/01/2025

Last chance! Only a few tickets 🎉

The past and future of news, 16 Jan 2025

The Mill in conversation with Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of the Guardian

The Mill in conversation with Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of the Guardian One of the enduring legacies of Manchester’s ind...

02/12/2024

Al Taylor and Al Holmes walked into their meeting with Wigan Council on 1st October in high spirits. They were expecting a four year extension to their contracts as creative directors for the renovation of Haigh Hall, a massive project aiming to turn the Grade II-listed country house, one of the grandest old buildings in the north west, into a cultural destination of national significance. By the time the meeting ended, Al Taylor was in tears.

“I mean — I was crying,” he says. For three years he and Holmes, long-time creative partners, had poured their hearts and souls into the hall’s renovation. Now they were being told it was over. Alison McKenzie-Folan, chief executive of Wigan Council, and James Winterbottom, director of strategy and innovation, informed the Als their contract was not being renewed.

Cue uproar.

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28/11/2024

We return to the Carlton Club, a 111-year-old institution that was served an eviction notice by some of its own members in March. Now, there’s a major update. The club’s new guard has dramatically wrestled back control and has promised to start “righting historic wrongs”. But how did we get here?

📬Tap the link in our profile to find out more!

27/11/2024

On Saturday, groups of Romani Gypsies and Travellers gathered at the Arndale’s Exchange Square entrance, only to be unceremoniously herded to Victoria and placed onto trains heading out of the city without knowing the destination that same evening. Troubling footage posted on X showed a man pointing his finger at a police officer and swiftly being placed prostrate on the ground and placed under arrest.

📬Want to find out more? Tap the link on our profile

25/11/2024

How Whalley Range changed the course of history. No, seriously.

How Whalley Range changed the course of history

27/07/2024

'It’s shocking, and it should be.'