A new anti-spiking partnership inspired by the students behind Manchester’s Girls Night In protest was announced by Andy Burnham and Sacha Lord as part of the city’s new Night Time Economy strategy yesterday.
The pair both met with local students last year after they organised a collective boycott of Manchester’s nightclubs in October, held in response to an alarming increase in reports of spiking – sometimes in drinks, sometimes, it was alleged, using a needle.
In that meeting, Manchester students put forward their own experiences of feeling unsafe and successfully persuaded the pair to adopt a new, zero-tolerance policy on spiking.
Now, six months later, it seems that that policy is coming to fruition.
Speaking to a packed room full of hospitality leaders from across the city and its ten boroughs on Thursday, Mr. Burnham officially announced the launch of the new anti-spiking partnership as part of Greater Manchester’s new Night Time Economy Strategy.
The mayor appealed to businesses to work alongside him to crack down on the harassment and abuse that has so often become a normal part of a night out, as he stressed that much more still needs to be done to enable people to feel safe – especially between the hours of 6pm and 6am.
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He said: “Greater Manchester [is] pioneering a different conversation, particularly about women and girls’ safety out and about at night time because there is more to do on this.
“Sacha and I took a suggestion from students at the University of Manchester to bring through an anti-spiking partnership and you’ll see reference to that in the strategy being launched today.
“We’d like to work with more of you to build out the idea of that, whether we can provide more testing on sites, so that we can protect people who fear they may have been a victim in that way.
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“That’s an important thing that we can do and we look forward to working with more of you on that.”
It was suggested, following that meeting with Manchester students last year, that the new anti-spiking strategy could see anti-spiking tests rolled out to venues – giving victims more surety in the moment that they have been spiked, as well as supporting as evidence of spiking if they choose to take the perpetrator to court at a later date.
However, that particular suggestion does not appear to have made it into the strategy – for now, at least, with Burnham seemingly appealing to venues to back the need for more on-site testing.
Still, there are some good processes being put in place to improve overall safety in the region.
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By 2024, there is a plan to create more ‘safe haven’ spaces for people on a night out who may have had too much to drink, feel vulnerable, need someone to talk to, or even just need somewhere to charge their phone so they can get home safely.
Also, subject to funding, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will look to offer training to workers in the sector to better identify bad situations and help keep vulnerable people from coming to harm.
Image: Girls Night In Manchester
Mr. Burnham also touched on a campaign launched earlier this year, called ‘Is this ok?’ designed to make men in particular question how appropriate their ‘banter’ really is.
He said: “We are, if I’m being very direct, speaking to men, lads and boys in the city region in a way that we should have done in the past.
“We need to do much more going forward and that is to challenge behaviour that sometimes passes for what they call banter or something like that.
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“[It] is fundamentally unacceptable and it’s about being clear about what we won’t accept anymore when it comes to women feeling intimidated or [being] harrassed when out and about in Greater Manchester.”
It’s a huge step in the right direction – and a clear sign that attitudes around the issue have undergone a major shift in recent years.
Government to begin giving millions of UK workers ‘significant’ pay rises from this week
Emily Sergeant
The Government is to begin giving more than three million workers across the UK a ‘significant pay boost’ from this week.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to ‘put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year’, the Government confirmed back at the beginning of February that a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour would take effect from April onwards.
Ministers said the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which is now worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a ‘significant step’ towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a ‘genuine’ living wage.
Today, millions of working people will get a pay rise as the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increase.
New rates:
🔹 from £11.44 to £12.21 if you’re 21 and over 🔹 from £8.60 to £10.00 if you’re 18-20 🔹 from £6.40 to £7.55 if you’re under 18 or an apprentice
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 1, 2025
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
The minimum wage pay boot has also been called the first step towards removing the ‘unfair’ age-bands that see a 21-year-old getting paid more than a 20-year-old for doing the same job.
According to the Government, this is also the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise from this week / Credit: Pexels
“In the last Parliament, living standards were the worst on record and sky-high inflation was crushing working people’s finances,” commented Chancellor Rachel Reeves, explaining why the pay boosts are being introduced.
“Making work pay is good for workers, will strengthen businesses’ workforces, and will grow our economy for years to come.
“It’s a key milestone on my number one mission to get more money in people’s pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Not only that, but the minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted later this year too, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of these particular changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd April 2022 
