Three stories from Manchester which encapsulated Britain (north of Watford) today... The Manchester hungry walking EIGHT miles for some free food Hungry jobseekers are walking up to eight miles for handouts at a food bank. Two friends who set up the Compassion Food Bank in Moss Side six months ago are now giving away over a thousand meals a month. Michelle Welch and Elaine Leverage set up the facility at their church and have so far helped over 800 people but demand is still soaring. The pair, who both work as foster carers and run the food bank in their spare time, are shocked by the stories of people who arrive having not eaten for days. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...manchester-hungry-walking-eight-miles-5326008 Unemployed man sets fire to job centre to get meal in police cells An unemployed man who hadn’t eaten for three days tried to set fire to the job centre – so he could have a meal in police custody. Bee O’Brien, 49, flew into a rage after a row over his benefits payments and set fire to the customer telephones at Moss Side job centre. O’Brien had not eaten for three days after his benefits had been stopped. He told police: “I will commit a crime and get arrested. I need some food.” http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ter-news/unemployed-man-sets-fire-job-6096469 Tories get free public transport in Manchester during conference David Cameron and fellow Conservative Party delegates will get free travel on trams, trains and buses during next week's Tory conference David Cameron and fellow Conservative Party delegates will get free travel on trams, trains and buses during next week's Tory conference All delegates at the Conservative party conference in Manchester will get free tram, train and bus travel throughout the region. They will be allowed to travel for free on public transport for the duration of next week’s conference – despite most being based in hotels close to the Manchester Central venue. The deal has been struck between transport bosses at ‘System One’ – the company which runs Greater Manchester’s travel card system – and Conservative party bosses. Steve North, from the Salford branch of the Unison trade union, said: “I’m staggered that when the Tories have cut services in Greater Manchester we are welcoming them like this. And we’re paying for it. The argument it costs nothing is rubbish – why not give free travel to the students, pensioners and disabled people, and low-paid workers, none of whom use the tram because they can’t afford to?” Peter Cranie from the Green Party slammed the offer as ‘outrageous’ and said the money should be spent on free travel for nurses or teachers instead. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ews/conservatives-free-bus-train-tram-6102003
There was a time when we used to say jokingly - "come the revolution they'll be first to the f***ing wall". What I say is why shoot 'em when a rope is cheaper than a bullet, and can be re-used over and again. Thus making real savings. Keep it up Mr. F. You are doing a good job here.
Why the hell are the Tories having a conference in Manchester? It's the North. They're not welcome here. While they're up here, will they be taking a trip over the Pennines to Yorkshire to tour the places their Beloved Leader fucking shut down?
Also, we'd probably find that they'd have sold the wall. And certainly the bullets, probably to help keep some middle eastern conflict simmering along nicely. Meanwhile, another Manchester / Tory story breaking nicely for their conference... Top Tory Alan Lewis arrested over historic rape claim A top Conservative official has been arrested over a historic allegation of rape. Tory vice-chairman Alan Lewis, 75, who was appointed by David Cameron, was held by police after a woman claimed she was attacked in the late 1960s. The self-made tycoon, who owns the Crombie clothing chain and is thought to have a fortune of between £220 and £260 million, was reportedly arrested at a Manchester hotel while on a business trip. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "A 75-year-old man was arrested following a complaint received earlier this year of an historic rape that occurred in the Manchester area in the late 60s. "The man was later bailed pending further inquiries." The Prime Minister gave Mr Lewis his current role as Tory vice-chairman responsible for business relations in 2010. In 1990, he was made a CBE for his services as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry's initiative to prepare British businesses to the single market. A Tory supporter since the early 1980s, he is a black belt in karate and a promoter of Christian healing who claims to read the Bible every day. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...rrested-over-historic-rape-claim-8846098.html
Once more Cameron shows what a wonderful judge of character he is. That's 2 top tories now facing sexual allegations.
Tories remove Army cuts protesters from conference hall Two retired soldiers have been ejected from the Conservative Party conference hall after heckling Philip Hammond over defence cuts. The pair were protesting at plans to axe the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Joe Eastwood and Ian Brazier accused Mr Hammond of betraying the regiment. They refused to sit down when asked to do so by the defence secretary and were escorted from the hall by security guards. Mr Hammond promised to speak to the retired soldiers, but they told reporters they were not interested in meeting him. The planned closure of the battalion is part of the government's Army 2020 strategy to reduce the number of service personnel from 102,000 to 82,000. The campaigners, who are protesting outside the Tory conference venue in Manchester, say the regiment, which has a history stretching back 336 years, was added to a list of cuts without any explanation. Retired Colonel Ian Brazier, who joined the Conservative Party last month, said his attempts to get answers on the planned closure from the Ministry of Defence had been "frustrated" and "avoided". "My soldiers, the people I have had the honour of serving with, have been betrayed," he told reporters. He also attacked the government's wider plans to reduce the size of the Army and replace full-time soldiers with reservists. Col Brazier said: "It won't be a defence force. It will be incapable of producing anything like the reach the minister seems to think it will have." He called for a more "rational" approach to defence spending and urged Prime Minister David Cameron to sack Mr Hammond and "get somebody who knows what they are doing to look after the forces". Both men said they hoped to remain Conservative Party members and Col Brazier said thousands of the party's rank-and-file would support what they are doing. "There are thousands of Conservatives who agree with exactly what we are doing and I'm sorry if Mr Hammond finds that embarrassing," he said. "It's not half as embarrassing as it is for me looking in the faces of some of our young soldiers who have come back from Afghanistan to be told that they are redundant or they are going to be posted to regiments they've never heard of to support them." Murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby belonged to the same battalion and Col Brazier said it was "incredibly insensitive" of the government to disband it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24324557
Conservative party conference: Shamed G4S gets top job guarding the £45-a-bottle Champagne THE Tories have hired G4S to guard what really matters most to them at this week’s conference – the champagne. Workers from the blundering security firm were seen yesterday helping shepherd cases of bubbly into the five-star hotel as banners were being unfurled bearing the party slogan: “For hardworking people”. The £45-a-bottle Ruinart Blanc de Blancs will be downed along with posh Sancerre wine over the next four days as David Cameron and his ministers lecture the rest of us on the need for austerity. To cope with the number of tippling Tories, the four-star 300-bed Midland hotel in Manchester has even turned its huge lobby area – normally a place for guests to relax with a tea or coffee – into an EXTRA bar. One stunned guest who checked out as the Conservatives moved in said: “They’re telling us to tighten our belts while they’re quietly stocking up on champagne for themselves. It seems it’s the same old Tories.” The same old Tory sense of judgement was also on display in its choice of security. Party bosses seem to have already forgotten that G4S sparked a public outcry last summer when it failed to provide enough guards for the Olympics. Soldiers had to be drafted in to cover the shortfall. Only two months ago the firm was accused of charging taxpayers for electronic tags on prisoners who were dead, behind bars or had left the country. Ministers pledged to review the firm’s portfolio of government work worth nearly £1billion a year. But there were no such worries yesterday as around 20 G4S staff were on hand to help police officers deal with the champagne delivery. They manned road block checkpoints and were posted at key points around the hotel to check people coming in. It is thought Mr Cameron and wife Samantha will stay in the penthouse suite of the hotel, a short walk from the conference centre where he will deliver his keynote speech to the party faithful on Wednesday. The hotel, surrounded by metal security fencing, will also be the venue for scores of late-night fringe meetings and cocktail parties where MPs will meet lobbyists, party donors and senior activists. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/conservative-party-conference-shamed-g4s-2317746
