Andy Burnham and Cllr Bev Craig have penned a hard-hitting letter to Rishi Sunak to “express concern” about the future of HS2.
It comes after alarming reports have emerged this week that the Prime Minister is apparently considering axing plans for the HS2 rail link to run from Birmingham to Manchester amid soaring costs and countless delays.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and several major business leaders may have hit out at these rumours – but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has suggested the scheme is currently “out of control”, while former transport secretary Grant Shapps said the Government wouldn’t be able to cope if costs continued on an upward trajectory.
With a decision on the fate of the already-contentious project’s Manchester leg expected in the coming days, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Leader of Manchester City Council have joined forces in their stance against the “swirling rumours”.
The pair have penned a hard-hitting letter directly to the Prime Minister to call out the Government’s actions.
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🚄"We are becoming increasingly concerned about the rumours swirling around HS2 to Manchester and, by extension, Northern Powerhouse Rail"
— Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) September 25, 2023
Local leaders have always maintained the view that the wrong HS2 solution for Greater Manchester could “damage” and have a wider impact on the north, and this latest letter addressed directly to the Prime Minister by the Mayor and Council Leader only reinforces that stance – with the pair calling it “deeply disrespectful” to residents and businesses in our region that the Government has not offered them a chance to consult on potential scrapping of the service.
Andy Burnham and Cllr Bev Craig say they’ve been “working with the Government for decades” on the HS2 project in order to best “galvanise support” and “maximise the once-in-a-generation opportunity” of the investment into northern infrastructure that offers.
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But now, they’re becoming “increasingly concerned” about the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) as a whole.
Andy Burnham and Bev Craig have penned a hard-hitting HS2 letter / Credit: Flickr | Manchester City Council
“At this stage, any change to the current plan for HS2 would have massive ramifications, not just for our city-region, but the North and Midlands too,” Mr Burnham and Cllr Craig stated in their letter.
“Any cancellation of HS2 to Manchester would effectively be cancelling NPR in its current form too, and we therefore find it deeply disrespectful to our residents and businesses that we have not been offered any opportunity to feed our views into this process nor have we received any information about what is being considered.
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“We are completely in the dark and that simply isn’t right given how profoundly important this is for our part of the country.”
Mr Burnham and Cllr Craig conceded that whilst it is “reasonable” for any Government to want to ensure HS2 “delivers value for money”, and that prices do not “escalate out of control”, they do not believe the north should “have to pay for the Government’s mismanagement” of the HS2 budget.
“Our purpose in writing, first and foremost, is to ask you for the courtesy of a meeting before any final decision is taken,” the pair continued in their letter to Mr Sunak.
“We believe we are owed that at the very least.
The Prime Minister is reportedly considering axing plans for the HS2 rail link to Manchester / Credit: HS2
“If you were to agree to that, we would convey to you, in the strongest possible terms, that HS2 should not be scrapped as we believe the north of England needs new North-South and East-West rail infrastructure, and should not be forced to choose between them in the same way that London hasn’t been forced such a choice.
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“However, if you are adamant on making changes to the scheme, we could be open to a discussion about prioritising the Northern section of the line, between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, so that it enables NPR to be built first.
“This would be conditional on two things – NPR being built in full, with an underground station at Manchester Piccadilly and a new line via Bradford, and a clear commitment that HS2 to Manchester is not being scrapped but re-phased and the protections left in place.
“We believe this is a reasonable proposal to put to you given the circumstances we find ourselves in.
“If you refuse to accept any of what we are saying, we believe that people here will conclude that your promises to level up the North, on which this Government was elected, are utterly meaningless.”
Featured Image – HS2
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2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity
Danny Jones
Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.
This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.
As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.
Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.
The 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon was a spectacular day for the city and its economy.
Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.
Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.
Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.
The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.
Together you have raised over £3.7 million for charitable causes, adding even more meaning to those 26.2 miles 💕 Well done and thank you to all those who fundraised and donated! 🌟Tag us in those charity top pictures from last weekend 😍😍#ManchesterMarathonpic.twitter.com/5gsi6NtFzB
This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.
This was a 20% increaseon 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.
With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons.
Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group
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Manchester firefighter surprises partner with proposal during new recruits parade
Danny Jones
We’re a sucker for a wholesome little video as we know you are, which is exactly why we thought of you lot when we came across this video of a newly graduated Manchester firefighter surprising his partner with a heartwarming proposal.
Just the kind of heartwarming that usually sets us off after a long week at work.
The clip shared by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) on Thursday, 25 April, shows Manc fireman James popping the question to his girlfriend sat unassumingly in the audience at a recent passing out ceremony.
Pass out ceremonies are when trainees go from recruits to fully qualified firefighters after completing their intensive operational training. It’s a long-standing tradition in the emergency services where friends and family gather to celebrate their achievements – it’s almost like it’s the perfect opportunity…
Watch as a Manc firefighter turns his passing out ceremony into a surprise proposal.
As you can see, since the graduates are usually the centre of attention, James couldn’t help but size his moment and instead of walking and lining up normally like everyone else, he decided to head straight over to his wife-to-be and get down on one knee.
You already know the rest.
Welling up immediately and barely able to remove her hands from her face, Melissa nods and says yes as the crowd cheers and the pair share a smooch.
Writing on social media, the GMFRS said: “We managed to capture a VERY special moment at our new recruits pass out parade today… Congratulations to James and Melissa!”, adding, “Certainly one way to start your new career”.
If we don’t see all the groomsmen dressed as firefighters on a random viral video sometime soon we’re going to be gutted.
All the best to the happy couple and if you’ve got any more lovely clips like this to send in so we can make ourselves cry (in a good way), you know what to do.
Emily Sergeant -
26th September 2023 
