#CancelTheCurfew campaign launched as Manchester bars battle 10pm serving ban
Local bars have launched Cancel The Curfew as they battle to get closing time pushed back - claiming that just 3% of infections are traced back to hospitality.
Bars and restaurants across Britain are banding together to launch a campaign entitled #CancelTheCurfew – armed with an open letter and petition to change the last orders law.
The latest COVID legislation – which forbids bars and restaurants from serving customers after 10pm – has been in force for less than 100 hours and is already attracting criticism from industry members.
Footage of crowds swarming out across Deansgate on Saturday at 22:01 were lambasted by Nighttime Economic Adviser Sacha Lord as both predictable and “shambolic.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has also asked the government to go back to the drawing board – arguing that the 10pm curfew could potentially “do more harm than good.“
Now, local bars themselves are battling to get closing time pushed back – claiming that just 3% of COVID infections in the UK are traced to these environments.
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Hospitality argues that pubs and restaurants are not the problem – and #CancelTheCurfew is a campaign that’s attempting to get the government to stop passing the buck to bars.
A petition is live and an open letter has been published.
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After months reeling from the heavy blows inflicted by coronavirus, the sector is temporarily off the ropes and swinging back in a bid to overturn the law.
Adam Wilson of The Liars Group commented: “Hospitality has bent over backwards to work within the ever-changing guidelines and the figures have proven that we’re nailing it.
“3% of cases from F&B outlets compared to HUGE upswings in education, workplaces, care homes, basically everywhere ELSE, but it is apparently hospitality taking the blame – Stop Blaming Hospitality.
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“Sending thousands of people out onto the streets at exactly the same time makes it impossible to distance and will almost guarantee another surge in cases – particularly when these people will then be piling into off licences, public transport and no doubt, kitchens.
“We changed licensing laws years ago to prevent public disorder and “speed drinking” before closing time and this undoes all that effort in the midst of a global pandemic – hence #cancelthecurfew.”
Tom “Timmy” De Santis, Co-Owner at Cocktail Beer Ramen & Bun, claimed he’d heard cries of ‘all back to mine’ on Saturday night around 10.15pm which “said it all.”
“What stings the most is that we are masters of customer care, and we have spent our cash and energy making our spaces as safe as we possibly can,” he added.
“Following vague guidelines and going over every bit of government rhetoric again and again to ensure we get it right. Yet here we are, penalised, singled out and suffering yet again.
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“This isn’t about infection rates, this is about stigma, misunderstanding and knee jerk policy.
“It’s a joke.”
Dean Mac, Co-Founder of One Eight Six bar on Deansgate, said his staff felt like they were being punished for their determination to survive.
He said he is supporting #CancelTheCurfew as the 10pm ban is set to cut his bookings in half.
“We’ve also had to completely change our infrastructure so that we can open earlier to actually keep ourselves in operation,” he explained.
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“Our team has worked incredibly hard to adapt to all the new changes over the weekend.
“We love welcoming all our guests, but to close our doors and say goodbye at 10pm was genuinely heartbreaking, especially when you could see how chaotic the streets were at that time.”
Mark “Tez” Taylor, the Co-Owner at Arcane, described the curfew as “stupidity”.
“First off, we’re forced to implement more extreme measures in venues with regards to investing in PPE, safety screens, booths, etc in order to comply,” said Tez.
“This was ok as it put customers at ease and got us all back in to work.
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“Now that those guidelines have again changed and we’re forced into a drastic loss of trading hours, many venues are still licking their wounds having already invested hundreds if not thousands of pounds to ensure safety and compliance, leaving them in a financial hole once again.
“We’ve done everything we can to do our bit. Threatened with fines, closure and financial hardship and still we’re being punished.”
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Backing #CancelTheCurfew, Tez said the assumption people could leave in an orderly fashion at 10pm every evening was “unreal”.
“The failure to have the basic vision to see that every customer in every hospitality corner of every city in the UK, would be leaving at pretty much bang on 10pm, seven nights a week is unreal,” he added.
“Millions of people across the country, leaving a tightly controlled environment in a bar or restaurant, forced out into the streets in unison, many after power drinking over a few hours.
“It’s next-level stupidity from the top.”
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Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
‘Christmas chaos’ on the cards as Manchester tram drivers vote on staging strike action next month
Emily Sergeant
There could be major disruption to festive travel in Greater Manchester next month, as hundreds of tram drivers are currently voting on whether to strike.
Almost 320 tram drivers are being balloted over working conditions and fears around fatigue.
The drivers – who are members of the union, Unite – all work for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in Manchester – and they operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester.
As it stands, the drivers’ shift patterns currently mean they have to work 450 hours over a 12-week period, which results in some having to work 50 hours on, followed by just two days off, then back into another 50-hour work pattern.
Drivers also have fewer rest days compared to all other operational departments, and this is said to be causing safety concerns around fatigue.
‘Christmas chaos’ is on the cards as Manchester tram drivers are currently voting on staging strike action next month / Credit: TfGM
Drivers say they concerned about operating heavy vehicles while exhausted and unable to have proper breaks, but after raising the issue with management, Unite has been told there is ‘no funding available’ to support any ‘meaningful’ improvements to working patterns.
Instead, management has asked drivers to start work earlier – which Unite says is only ‘adding insult to injury’.
The ballot is set to close on 11 November, and if drivers vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could then begin in late November, causing widespread cancellations and delays throughout the region during the busy festive shopping period – particularly coinciding with Manchester’s world-famous Christmas Markets, known for attracting millions of visitors to the city each year.
“Any strike action will cause a great deal of disruption but it is entirely the fault of Metrolink, which is not taking the issue of driver fatigue seriously,” commented Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden.
The Manc -
28th September 2020 
