In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Sir Richard said he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren, adding: “I don’t want to do 60-hour weeks and 12-hour days.”
Driven by Labour values and commitment to his city, @SirRichardLeese has been a phenomenal council leader and a credit to Manchester. He’s shown what Labour in power can deliver. We’re all grateful to him for what he’s achieved and I wish him all the best for the future. https://t.co/77QaRTCPjn
The former teacher and youth worker has been part of Manchester city council since 1984, and at its helm since May 1996 – just one month before the IRA bombing at the Arndale.
In the immediate wake of the bombing, Sir Richard was a driving force behind Manchester’s restoration. This, among many other things, is what led to his knighthood in 2006.
In May 2017, he was appointed deputy mayor of Greater Manchester under the leadership of Andy Burnham and in that same month, together with Andy, led the city through the horrific period following the Manchester Arena attack.
Announcing his resignation, he said his “commitment to the city and the city region remains undiminished”.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve the people of Manchester over this period of time and my heartfelt thanks goes to the thousands of people who have worked with us over the last 25 years.”
Mayor Andy Burnham also posted, stating: “PMs apart, it’s hard to think of a politician on local or national stage who’s made more of a real-world impact than Richard Leese.
“Manchester is today a city transformed from the one of my youth and Greater Manchester is immeasurably stronger. From us all, Richard – thank you.”
Manchester
Sugababes announced as headliner for this year’s Homobloc queer block party
Daisy Jackson
Homobloc has unveiled its line-up for this year’s massive queer block party, and they’ve roped in Sugababes as a headliner for 2025.
The phenomenal LGBTQ+ party, which takes over Depot Mayfield every year as part of the Warehouse Project season, will also see performances from Honey Dijon, The Blessed Madonna, and Beth Ditto.
The huge line-up also includes Patrick Mason, Slayyyter, Peaches (DJ) b2b Erol Alkan, Hercules And Love Affair – Live, Todd Edwards and many more.
As well as music, there’ll be performance art from queer collectives like Pxssy Palace, Butch Revival, T4T, Feel It, Ghetto Fabulous, House of Spice x Zindagi, and Red Rodeo Club.
Taking place in December, Homobloc will be returning for its sixth edition, with its most diverse line-up yet.
Once again, it’ll be an all-evening-and-into-the-night party that’s all-inclusive to all artists, performers, spectators and clubbers.
Homobloc is one of the biggest dates in the calendar for Manchester, with a diverse line-up of live acts, DJs and performers, showcasing rising talent and queer icons alike.
It’s a party with purpose, too, raising £137,399 for vital LGBTQ+ charities since its inaugural event in 2021.
This year, the team have hosted a series of one-off events, including events with Romy, Princess Superstar, and closing Manchester International Festival, as well as making its Ibiza debut at Amnesia.
This winter, Homobloc will be lead by pop royalty Sugababes, fresh from their European tour.
Sugababes will headline Homobloc 2025. Credit: Jody HartleyCredit: Jody Hartley
Homobloc favourites Honey Dijon and The Blessed Madonna will be back once again, plus Berlin-based techno powerhouse and creative director Patrick Mason, the iconic Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters fame, and a rare DJ set from Gossip’s magnetic frontwoman, Beth Ditto.
The line-up also includes American singer Slayyyter, a special b2b DJ sets from electroclash icon Peaches and Erol Alkan, live performance from dance music project Hercules & Love Affair, and a set from Grammy Award-winning house legend Todd Edwards.
There will be DJ sets from Sally C b2b I.Jordan, Roi Perez, Eliza Rose, Joshua James, Fat Tony, Grace Sands, and Manchester’s Aiden Francis, Gina Breeze and Kim Lana.
It’s all taking places across all three main stages at Depot Mayfield, as well as The Plant Room, the Star & Garter pub next door, and the Loft up on the rooftop.
Rod Connolly, Promoter from Homobloc, commented: “We can’t wait for people to dive into our 2025 lineup of queer excellence, proudly merging global and local artists, returning friends, and scratching the underbelly of the scene to showcase the rawest talent from the queer underground.
“In a time of rising division, events like Homobloc matter more than ever. We deserve a space for our community and allies to come together and hold each other up on a dancefloor full of love and resistance.
“We are the beings the bastards can’t grind down and we invite everyone to join us to shake off the bullshit, recharge, realign and carry our queer power back out onto the streets of Manchester.”
Sophie Bee, Homobloc Creative Director, added: “The team are super excited to be back. We’ve got some unreal collaborations booked in for this year, from Jodie Harsh and Clayton Wright’s London community strong, weekly club night Feel It to local hot talent Rojak.
“Loads of favourites are back like the Fvck Pigs, Sue Veneers, Ghetto Fabulous, Cute Cartel and Jay Jay Revlon, and there’s some really exciting b2b’s. We’re working with mind blowing producers such as Runway X Banksie and the nations favourite, Lill, producing a fabulous line up of queens.
“We’re also cooking away at some special happenings with Sam Buttery and Beau Azra. As always, we just want to blow your socks off and have the best time with all our pals.”
House Of Spice commented: “Homobloc is more than a festival to us – it’s a celebration of queerness, music, and chosen family.
“As a South Asian, Middle Eastern and North African queer brown collective, House of Spice is proud to bring our flavour to 2025, featuring Club Zindagi, Armana Khan, Shanika Sunrise, DJ Chafik, and our performers Lucky Roy Singh (Mother), Mixed Spice, Chilli Spice, Saffy Saffron Spice, and Rachel Pro-Filing.
“Together we’re excited to create a space that is unapologetically free, joyful, and rooted in community. Homobloc represents unity and visibility, and we can’t wait to dance, perform, and celebrate with everyone under one roof.”
This year’s Homobloc is set to take place on Saturday 6 December – grab your tickets HERE.
Pre-sale will be live on Thursday 11 September at 10am ahead of general sale from 10am on Friday 12 September.
Manchester is getting a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix the roads ready for winter
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is getting itself a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix up the roads across the region ready for winter.
Manchester City Council has confirmed that the maintenance work is due to take place throughout this month to ensure Manchester roads are ‘future-proofed’ for the next decade and more – and this will, crucially, include things like resurfacing.
It comes after the Council spoke to Mancs earlier this year, and residents declared that they wanted roads and pavements ‘up to standard’ and for them to stay that way, so as part of the Council’s commitment to this, a large-scale £2m resurfacing programme is set to run throughout September, with 53 roads due to be improved.
Ahead of winter, and the inevitable wet and cold weather it brings – which is the cause of a large number of issues to the road network – these upcoming works are to put a protective barrier in place ahead of time to nip potential future issues in the bud.
The work being carried out will take place in two stages – first will be the surface dressing stage, before the sealing stage, also known as the ‘Kiely Lock’ process, finishes it off.
Manchester is getting a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix the roads ready for winter / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
“We know that the cold and wet of winter puts additional stress on our roads, add in freezing temperatures and we have a recipe that can make short work of the road surface,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“This is why we’re mobilising now to ensure that we can protect as many roads as possible, which not only saves the taxpayer money in the long term, but also makes our journeys quicker and safer.
“Over the past year we have invested heavily in improvements to our highways network as we know from our residents’ feedback it’s one of the issues most important to them.
“We are confident that this programme of works will be a net positive for our residents and I’d like to thank them ahead of time for their patience as we futureproof our roads for the coming decade.”
The planned improvements will start on Tuesday 16 September, and will continue though until Saturday 27 September, and some disruption is to be expected, so do plan ahead.
You can find the full list of roads being resurfaced here.
The Manc -
8th September 2021 
