The Northern Rose

The Northern Rose Independent journalism from Manchester

28/05/2026

Reform could be about to pull off a seismic upset in Ashton-in-Makerfield - and the reason is simple. People aren’t seeing the change they were promised.

Bins, buses, NHS waiting times, energy bills - the basics of everyday life are getting harder, not easier. After 14 years of Conservative government and a Labour administration that many feel has continued the same story, voters in Ashton aren’t waiting around. They want something different. And right now, that something is Reform.

Andy Burnham is coming to Makerfield promising to be the man to turn things around. But on the streets of Ashton, plenty of people aren’t convinced - and some think he’s just using the seat as a stepping stone to Westminster and a Labour leadership bid.

25/05/2026

The Manchester Flower Festival has taken over the city centre this weekend, transforming it with floral displays, green installations, free events, outdoor dining and entertainment - all under this year’s theme of Green Manchester.

Installations include a homage to the redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens, an industrial garden inspired by Castlefield Viaduct, and a bug hotel made from reclaimed materials. Now in its ninth year, it reminds you just how good this city can feel in the sunshine.

If you haven’t been yet - today is your last chance. It’s completely free.

22/05/2026

We went to Ashton-in-Makerfield today. Here's what people told us. 🌹

After 14 years of Tory government and a Labour administration that many feel has continued to let them down, people aren't necessarily voting Reform because they believe in the party, they're voting for something new.

And right now, that happens to be Reform.

But Andy Burnham is coming and opinion on the street is split. Some are excited at the prospect of their MP potentially becoming Prime Minister. Others think he's using Makerfield as a stepping stone to get there - and they're not interested in being used again.

Full video on YouTube - link in bio.

21/05/2026

Andy Burnham has announced he wants to return to Westminster, saying the most effective way he can help people with their bills and support Greater Manchester is from inside Parliament.

Burnham is expected to contest a by-election in Makerfield in mid-June, after MP Josh Simons offered to give up his seat to make way for him. He was previously blocked by Labour’s NEC from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election in March - which was ultimately won by Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer.

The Northern Rose has spent recent months covering what life looks like on the ground in Greater Manchester - from workers on picket lines in Hulme and Prestwich, to people with long term mental health conditions being failed by a system hollowed out by austerity.

Video clip from the M.E.N

21/05/2026

The UK pays £110 billion a year just to service its debt - money flowing straight to pension funds, overseas investors, and banks. In 2008, when today’s young people were still in primary school, the banks collapsed and the government bailed them out. National debt nearly doubled. Now that generation is footing the bill — £53,000 in student debt, 16.2% unemployment, and home ownership among under-35s collapsed from 55% to 31%.

Meanwhile £166 billion a year flows to pensioners, protected by a triple lock that rises faster than your wages. This isn’t accident. It’s a political choice.

20/05/2026

Reform UK's Makerfield by-election candidate Robert Kenyon has had his X account suspended after archived posts revealed he shared content from far-right figures during the Southport riots. Kenyon was also Facebook friends with Gary Raikes, leader of neofascist group the New British Union -a link flagged to Nigel Farage two years ago. He never responded.

19/05/2026

We sat down with Ollie from Bee Here Now - a local historian and YouTuber to talk about what actually makes a city look good & if Manchester fits the bill.

Our collaboration with Ollie is part of our Who Built Manchester series - exploring how immigration has shaped the city that we know and love today.

To stay up to date with the series you can subscribe to our & Ollie’s YouTube channel as the first group we look at is Irish immigration.

18/05/2026

We’re collaborating with Ollie from Bee Here Now for a YouTube series and to see what’s to come - here’s one of Ollie’s favourite Manchester facts that challenges one of the city’s most well known historical narratives.

During the American Civil War, cotton workers in Manchester decided to strike, supporting the fight against slavery - despite facing unemployment and poverty.

Manchester has long been celebrated for that act of solidarity. Liverpool, by contrast, has often been cast as the villain its merchants profiting from Confederate trade while workers suffered.

But local historian Ollie from Bee Here Now has a different take. The real picture of Liverpool, he argues, is far more nuanced - and the solidarity shown by Liverpool's working class during the cotton strikes deserves far more recognition than history has given it.

14/05/2026

Nigel Farage - the man who built his entire political identity on being anti-establishment has accepted a £5 million personal gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire and he didn't declare it.

The parliamentary standards watchdog is now formally investigating whether he breached the House of Commons Code of Conduct.

The gift came from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor based in Thailand, and was received in 2024 before Farage announced his candidacy in Clacton at that year's general election. Harborne also made a separate £9 million donation to Reform in August 2025 - the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person.

Around two thirds of Reform's entire funding last year came from Harborne alone.

Farage says the gift was for personal security and that no rules were broken. If the investigation finds he committed a serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons - and a suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing a by-election in Clacton.

This is the man whose party just topped local elections across England on a platform of taking on the establishment. The question is where is the media scrutiny?

13/05/2026

On Monday 18th, a group of refugees and asylum seekers in Manchester face a court possession order that could leave them on the street. They have written an open letter to Andy Burnham, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

There are currently over 21,000 live applications on the Manchester Housing Register. The average wait for a one bedroom property is more than five years - and for a family home, up to eight years.

The social housing waiting list has grown by 69% since 2015. Manchester has the highest rate of temporary accommodation in England outside London - three times the national average.

People are not getting housed because there is simply not enough social housing to go around. Refugees granted asylum find themselves at the back of a queue that barely moves so they get stuck.

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