Sacha Lord has announced today that he has joined the Labour Party, which is a move he said he has wanted to make “for a long time”.
After taking a stand on and publicly expressing his views on a number of issues concerning the region, and the city’s hospitality industry over the past couple of years – particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic – Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Adviser, Sacha Lord, has officially announced today that he has made the decision to announce the Labour Party.
The co-founder of Parklife Festival and Warehouse Project was appointed to the role of Night Time Economy Adviser by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham back in 2018.
He is the first ever person to hold the position in the city-region.
Taking to Twitter this morning to share the news that he has joined the Labour Party, Sacha Lord, explained: “I have today joined the Labour Party. This is a move I’ve wanted to make for a long time.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We need a change in Government and I fully support Labour in their ambitions to lead the country.”
I have today joined The Labour Party.
This is a move I've wanted to make for a long time.
We need a change in Government and I fully support Labour in their ambitions to lead the country.
Mr Lord says he hopes in joining the Labour Party, he can help to give the region “a louder voice” – but has ruled out becoming an MP.
ADVERTISEMENT
Explaining more about his decision, Mr Lord said: “This is a move I have been wanting to make for a long time, and the current political circumstances have hastened this ambition [as] I have seen the positive difference that Andy [Burnham] has made during my time working with the mayor’s office, and I want to support him in giving Greater Manchester and the North West a louder voice.
“Young people and young families today must be given the same opportunities I was given throughout the early stages of my career under the previous Labour Government.
“Not only was entrepreneurialism encouraged, but there were policies in place to help people get their first steps on the property ladder or discover new career paths, both geographically and across industry sectors.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Over the past 12 years, I’ve watched the Conservatives take away these opportunities, by quashing ambition, limiting entrepreneurship, and implementing policies that restrain our cultural progress and our ability to work with our international counterparts.
“We need a change in Government and for me, the only party to deliver opportunity is the Labour Party.”
Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Adviser to Greater Manchester / Credit: Darren Robinson Photography
Mr Lord says he “fully supports” the Labour Party in its “ambitions to lead the country”, and that he looks forward to “working even more closely with the party going forward.”
Lucy Powell – MP for Manchester Central and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – has also welcomed Lord to the party.
“I’m really pleased Sacha has taken the step to join Labour,” she explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He’s got enormous experience in business and has been an incredibly strong voice for hospitality and the night time economy, both during COVID and the cost-of-living crisis, and he will be a huge asset to our party.
Mr Lord’s decision to join the Labour Party also comes after former Manchester United and England star Gary Neville – who now heads up several business and property interests in Manchester city centre, alongside his work in football punditry and commentary – also famously joined the party back in January 2022.
Neville has also been vocal on a number of similar issues to Lord over the past couple of years.
Featured Image – Sacha Lord
News
ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
News
Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd November 2022 
