Pledges have been made for collective action on six priority areas:
Education and skills
Reducing inequalities
Jobs and growth
The digital economy
Net zero
The creative and cultural economy
These commitments are said to have been made following consultation with political and civic leaders.
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Polling of local Greater Manchester residents was also carried out and found that the top priorities for people living in the city region were economic growth and reducing unemployment, improving health and wellbeing, addressing the climate crisis, and increasing job quality.
The polling also highlighted that people in the city region recognise the role of universities in meeting these priorities through training professionals to work in public services, creating jobs and opening up access to higher education for young people from across Greater Manchester and beyond.
“We are very proud of the civic role that our universities already play in Greater Manchester and this agreement sets out how we can enhance this through collective action,” said the leaders of the five higher education institutions.
“During the pandemic, our five universities came together in new ways to work collaboratively in meeting the needs of students, staff and our local communities [and] as we turn to recovery and building back better from COVID, we can be more than the sum of our parts by working together to deliver real and lasting impact for our city region.
“The Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement is the biggest and most ambitious partnership of its kind in the country covering two cities, eight boroughs and 2.8 million people and outlines how we will work together to level up our city region through innovation, reach our climate ambitions and support the creation of educational pathways into good quality jobs.”
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Andy Burnham – Mayor of Greater Manchester – added: “The signing of this agreement is a landmark moment for Greater Manchester.
“Through this agreement, we can ensure our city region is the best place for people to learn and gain qualifications throughout their lifetime, by providing more ways into further and higher education.
“Our universities are at the cutting edge of innovation, and we have a plan to make sure that the impact of this innovation is felt across Greater Manchester.
“Our city region’s education institutions play an enormously important role, supporting more than 100,000 students and providing businesses with a skilled workforce, while also serving their communities and acting as major employers in their own right [and] they will have a significant part to play as we tackle challenges like reducing inequalities and meeting our net zero targets.”
Priority areas of action in the civic university agreement include Innovation GM – the £7 billion innovation blueprint for the city region, pressing on with action to reach net zero by 2038 and supporting the growth of the digital economy through initiatives such as the AI Foundry and the Cyber Foundry.
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The pledge is also building on a recent commitment to collaboration with further education colleges in Greater Manchester.
It will build partnerships with wider stakeholders across the public and private sector too.
Featured Image – University of Manchester
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Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
The Manc -
27th September 2021 
