A woman who staged a lone protest outside the Chanel show in Manchester last week has been inundated with praise from locals.
The woman was positioned on High Street, mere metres from where a-list celebrities and high-fashion models were parading for the fashion giant.
The fact that the exclusive event took place in Manchester has been considered a huge coup for the city, and one which will have had a significant economic impact.
But the woman outside the Chanel show chose the opportunity to highlight the stark contrast between the luxurious fashion show and the harsh reality of many living in poverty in our city.
She held a sign that read: “Over 250,000 children living in poverty in Manchester. Higher than UK average.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Manchester has one of the highest level of homelessness. 1 in 74 people. 7407 and rising!
“Where have you hidden the homeless Andy??”
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking about Chanel, she told photographer Project Certi: “No one was consulted about this. It’s not for the people of Manchester. You can come here if you want a celebrity spot but that’s not for you.
“This sort of thing moves around the world, they’ll have it somewhere weird and wonderful every year, and this is kind of like, capitalising on the working class history of Manchester.
“The poster’s got, ironically, the suffragettes on it, you know, people fighting for rights. They’re using images from the Hacienda, they’re using music of Joy Division and New Order, all of that what made Manchester on the music map all came out working class struggle. It all came during Thatcher and the attack on the working class, which is exactly what we’re seeing now with 12 years of austerity.”
There was one woman on her own amongst the public. She was one person with a sign and i felt it was only right to amplify her voice. She makes some good points. #manchester#chanel#chanelshow#fyp#trending#people
She also highlighted the man who died on the street in the Gay Village on a night where temperatures dropped, and the ‘cr*ppy B&Bs’ that homeless people find themselves housed in.
Speaking of the impact of Chanel on Manchester though, Deputy Leader Luthfur Rahman OBE said: “The impact of the decision by CHANEL to hold its prestigious Métiers d’Art show here in Manchester is something that is already resonating with people around the globe and is going to continue to be felt by the city for quite some time.
“It speaks volumes about the regard in which Manchester is already held across the world, but more importantly it also sends a clear signal to international businesses and the international visitor economy that Manchester is the place to be.
“It’s impossible at this stage to even begin to quantify the economic impact hosting the event has had on the city, or to put a figure on it. The true impact will involve not just the direct spend and income generated within the city over these last few weeks leading up to and during the event, but also the longer-term benefits that will come from the massive boost to Manchester’s profile that CHANEL has given the city, that in turn translates into more visitors coming to see what Manchester has to offer, and more businesses choosing to invest here.
“It has been without doubt quite a moment for Manchester, not least coming as it does off the back of many other significant moments for the city this year, that together place Manchester in absolute pole position on the world’s stage for the years ahead.”
ADVERTISEMENT
In the comments on Project Certi’s video, one person wrote: “Thank you for giving this woman a platform.”
Another wrote: “Whoever this woman is, she’s a legend. As are you for capturing it.”
Someone else posted: “I have so much respect for this woman, I’d love to meet her and let her know she’s not alone in her feelings towards this.”
One comment said: “She is such a queen, bang on with everything she’s saying.”
Derelict Manchester office block to become ‘vital’ accommodation for homeless families
Emily Sergeant
A derelict former office block in Manchester is set to become vital accommodation for homeless families in the region.
Manchester City Council has announced that, subject to planning approval, new temporary accommodation for dozens of homeless families will be created on the site of a derelict former office block in south Manchester, off Nell Lane in Chorlton.
The Council acquired the 1.1 acre site last month with the support of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.
The initiative – which is part of wider plans to boost the city’s stock of quality temporary accommodation – will see self-contained two-bedroom accommodation created for around 55 homeless families built where former NHS offices, Mauldeth House, currently stand.
Mauldeth House has been empty for several years now at this point, and had become somewhat of a ‘blight’ on the neighbourhood, attracting anti-social behaviour along the way and being targeted by squatters – but with the plans for the new accommodation, this could change for the better.
The site, and therefore the new accommodation, is said to be ‘ideally located’ for families, as it’s close to shops, schools, public transport, leisure facilities, and Chorlton Park.
The new accommodation will see families supported by a specialist team based on site to help them move on as quickly as possible into permanent settled tenancies, which is, of course, the long-term goal for many.
The Mauldeth House initiative is cited as being one example of the Council’s drive to increase its temporary accommodation stock across the city to reduce the number of out-of-area placements.
Other successful examples of this initiative include Mariana House in Whalley Range, and The Poplars in Rusholme.
It also comes after it was announced last month that homeless children in Greater Manchester, particularly those who are placed in temporary accommodation out of area for their school, will now get free bus travel to and from school.
“Mauldeth House is a great example of how we can put derelict properties to good use to benefit those experiencing homelessness, as well as making our neighbourhood look better,” explained Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Joanna Midgley.
“We are tackling homelessness on many fronts, the most important one being prevention, but we also need an increased supply of good quality temporary accommodation within the city so that if people do become homeless they are not uprooted from their social support networks.
“One of the ways we are doing this is through the innovative use of existing sites whether they are council owned or we are able to acquire them, as in the case of Mauldeth House.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
News
Bolton woman who falsely accused 10 men of raping her has been jailed
Emily Sergeant
A woman from Bolton who falsely accused 10 different men of raping her over a six-year period has now been jailed.
Stacey Sharples, 31 from Farnworth in Bolton, pleaded guilty of 10 counts of perverting the course of justice in relation to reports against 10 separate men at Bolton Crown Court earlier last month (2 February 2026), before appearing in court again this week to be sentenced.
The investigation into Sharples was launched after the arrests and questioning of almost all these men, and following the pursuing of all relevant lines of enquiry, which consistently revealed evidence contrary to what had been disclosed by Sharples.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says investigations of this nature are ‘extremely rare’ and the decision to pursue Sharples as a suspect was ‘not one taken lightly’.
“However, it is our duty to act in the public interest and on the evidence and information we uncover and receive, which in this case demonstrated a continuous, wilful making of false allegations, knowing full well the consequences for each of the men involved,” GMP said in a statement following Sharples’ sentencing.
Of the allegations Sharples pleaded guilty to – of which were made over a six-year period between 2013 and 2019 – most of the men were arrested and spent time in custody, with some also undertaking intimate examinations, and almost all spending periods of time on police bail or released under investigation.
Statements from the men accused by Stacey Sharples / Credit: GMP
GMP says there’s ‘no doubt’ the reports and arrests have had an impact on these men, their sense of self and relationships, their wider networks, and how they move forward with their lives.
False accounts also undermine those who have genuinely experienced sexual violence.
Police say it also affects the confidence in the criminal justice system, and that the time spent investigating Sharples’ reports could have been put towards investigating ‘genuine reports of sexual offences’ instead.
Sharples has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison this week after pleading guilty to making false rape allegations.
Speaking following Sharples’ sentencing this week, Detective Sergeant Steven Gilliland, who investigated this case, said: “We took the allegations made by Stacey Sharples seriously, explored all lines of enquiry and swiftly made arrests or interviewed of all the men she accused.
“We gave her multiple opportunities to provide further explanation or information to us, after interviews with the men and subsequent evidence uncovered didn’t align with her first recollection, as we understand that trauma can impact how victims and survivors recount their experiences.
“Ultimately, as the evidence continued to demonstrate that the reports were untrue, coupled with the desire for justice from some of the men who had been falsely accused, it was right that we followed the evidence and pursued the individual who had actually committed a criminal offence.”
Daisy Jackson -
11th December 2023 
