Greater Manchester Police has issued a statement regarding the large-scale protests which took place in the city centre on Saturday.
The statement specifically addressed the decision not to dismiss the demonstrating crowds.
Hundreds of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to demonstrate on a number of causes – including opposition to the government’s proposed new crime legislation – with several others gathering to show their opposition to violence against women, and Black Lives Matter protesters and an anti-lockdown group were also seen within the crowds, which also congregated in Piccadilly Gardens.
The Manchester city centre demonstrations were believed to form part of a nationwide movement, with several other protests citing similar motives also seen to have taken place in other major cities across the UK – most prominently London and Bristol.
Under the current restrictions for England’s third national lockdown, mass demonstrations are not prohibited – a change to previous restrictions, which allowed them to place – and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which has been widely reported on over the last week, would give police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance.
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Those convicted under the proposed legislation could face a fine or jail time.
More than a thousand people are now taking part in the Manchester protest against the COVID-19 laws. They claim the risk of the virus has been exaggerated – and are calling for their “freedom” back. The council say it’s an insult to those families who’ve lost loved ones. pic.twitter.com/JphHowWD2A
Over the course of the demonstrations in Manchester city centre this past weekend, police officers – including tactical aid units – were seen surrounding the crowds, but did not intervene.
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Now, Nick Bailey – Assistant Chief Constable at the Greater Manchester Police – has issued a statement about the forces’ decision to adopt a “low key approach”, with officers engaging with people to encourage them to socially distance and disperse.
ACC Bailey said that GMP has gathered evidence in relation to all protests, and will be concentrating investigations against those who have organised these events.
He said: “We were aware of several protests which took place yesterday across the city centre and our position in regard to all protests during this lockdown remains that they do not meet what is an acceptable reason to gather during the lockdown.
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“Public safety is a top priority for GMP, and in the lead up to these protests, police actively engaged with the organisers to explain government guidance and discuss alternate options in order to dissuade a public gathering from taking place. However, when large groups choose to ignore that, we will always look to see whether it is safe to take action which would physically prevent the protest and disperse the crowd.
“A careful assessment was made about the policing approach and it was decided that a low key approach, which was sensitively policed, would be the most appropriate form of action.
“Proportionate action was taken on the day, and officers engaged with those present to encourage social distancing and dispersal of attendees”.
Relatively small protest in Manchester and verrrry hands-off policing. Cops are parked round the corner, not really anywhere near. pic.twitter.com/PJNG4kb2f8
He continued: “GMP will continue to make assessments of all gatherings that are felt to be unlawful and make a decision as to how best to protect the wider public from the spread of infection, our staff policing the event and those engaged in the protest. Whilst no enforcement action was taken yesterday, GMP has gathered evidence in relation to all the protests and will be concentrating our investigations against those who have organised these events and will where appropriate take enforcement action.
“I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and it is vitally important that we all continue to play our part in helping to keep our community safe and protected.
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“With the vaccination scheme in place, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel, but we must do everything we can to reduce the number of virus transmissions. Therefore, I would continue to appeal to the public to follow government advice and adhere to the legislation, which has been put in place to save lives.
“Help us to help you stay safe.”
Today Manchester said #killthebill – our right to protest will not be silenced. What we are seeing is dangerous but not unexpected – the police and Tories feel threatened! now more than ever get out and protest the #PoliceCrackdownBillpic.twitter.com/BVRyEZT7iT
ACC Bailey’s statement comes just a fortnight after mental health worker, Karen Reissmann, was handed a £10,000 fine for organising a “socially distanced and fully risk assessed” demonstration – which came to an end after 10 minutes – in the same spot to protest the government’s proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff.
Ms Reissmann was fined and another woman, 65, was arrested for failing to provide details having refused the opportunity to leave when asked.
95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’, new study reveals
Emily Sergeant
An eye-opening new study has found that only 5% of Mancs still use cash as their preferred method of payment nowadays.
It comes as no surprise that cash is less of a ‘king’ nowadays than it used to be, but now a new report by global financial technology company SumUp has suggests that only 5% of people in Manchester prefer to pay with cash, while 59% choose debit and credit cards, so that leaves one question… is Manchester on its way to becoming a cashless city?
To discover how payment preferences are evolving, SumUp conducted a nationwide survey to gather insights from UK consumers about their payment habits.
The company was particularly intrigued to not only discover payment methods people prefer, but what their concerns around certain payment methods, alongside how they feel about businesses that don’t accept digital payments.
95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’ / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash) | Pexels
Firstly, before we go any further, it’s important to note that almost two thirds (63%) of Manchester residents said they have changed the way they make payments over the past year.
Unsurprisingly, debit and credit cards remain the top choice for the majority of Mancs, with over half (59%) saying it was their preferred method of payment, followed by mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay at 24% – which is likely thanks to their ease of use and the ability to have multiple cards on one device.
While a third (31%) of Mancs said that they ‘don’t mind’ cash and still opt to carry it for situations where digital payments aren’t an option, a growing number of people in the city are feel that digital payments are more favourable, with 25% thinking that businesses should adapt to modern payment methods and whilst 28% finding it ‘inconvenient’ when a business doesn’t accept digital payments.
A further 11% of people even say that cash-only businesses wouldn’t be an option they’d consider, and would actually avoid them wherever possible.
Only 5% use cash as their preferred method of payment / Credit: Rawpixel
When it comes to concerns around digital payment methods, where do Mancs stand then? Well, the survey found that a third (33%) of people are worried about their reliance on technology, especially being unable to pay if their phone dies, for example, while an additional 32% of people are concerned about security risks such as hacking, fraud, or stolen card details.
Among other things, 26% of survey respondents also said they worry about the privacy aspect of digital banking and the tracking your data.
“While debit and credit cards continue to dominate as the preferred payment method, it’s clear that cash is slowly declining in use, particularly among younger generations,” Corin Camenisch, who is the Marketing & Growth Lead at SumUp, commented on the report.
“Looking ahead, we can anticipate a rise in innovative payment methods like digital wallets, especially as younger consumers increasingly embrace the convenience and flexibility they offer.”
Featured Image – Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)
News
Met Office predicts UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer
Emily Sergeant
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year.
Fresh off-the-back of the news that 2025 is already the hottest spring on record, with a recorded 630 hours of sunshine from 1 March until 27 May, beating out the previous sunniest spring in 2020 by just four hours, the Met Office is now predicting that the UK is on the verge of a summer that’s ‘hotter than usual’.
According to its three-month outlook, the Met Office has predicted that it’s 2.3 times more-likely than ‘normal’ that it will be hot in the UK between 1 June and 31 August.
The average temperatures during those months are set to range from 10-17°C.
🌡️ ☀️ The UK has recorded its warmest and sunniest spring on record, according to provisional Met Office statistics.
Spring 2025 is now the 4th sunniest season overall for the UK, with only 3 summers sunnier since 1910.
Details in release below, or read this short thread 👇🧵
After it was revealed that this has also been the UK’s driest spring in more than a century, meteorologists are warning Brits that there could heatwave conditions could be reached at various times throughout the summer.
The release of the long-range forecast – which gives an indication of possible temperatures, rainfall, and wind speed over a period as a whole – comes after temperatures soared to 8°C (46F) above the average for this time of year this Saturday just gone (31 May).
It is important to note, however, that the Met Office thinks these predicted temperatures are similar to those in recent years, and it does not guarantee ‘prolonged’ hot weather.
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer this year / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
The Met Office said in a statement: “While the current three-month outlook shows an increased chance of a hot summer, the temperature signals for this summer are similar to those for recent years and consistent with our warming climate.
“The increased chance of hotter than average temperatures is not a guarantee of prolonged hot weather or heatwaves, but it does mean that heatwave conditions could be reached at times.
“However, it’s important to bear in mind that an increased chance of hot conditions could also reflect a mix of hot and cool days, warm nights, or less extreme levels of warmth rather than continual heatwave conditions specifically.”
The Manc -
22nd March 2021 
