Manchester’s libraries are set to become ‘warm spaces’ offering free hot drinks and internet access to those in need again this winter.
After tens of thousands of local residents visited the “stigma-free safe spaces” to escape and take refuge from the cold back in both 2022 and 2023, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme again this year during the chillier months.
22 libraries across Manchester are, once again, taking part in the scheme this time around.
Designed to “provide support to people who need it” over some of the most challenging months of the year when temperatures drop, the Council’s scheme is offering a range of different services – and they’re all for free of charge.
Manchester’s libraries are becoming ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and Wi-Fi this winter / Credit: Flickr | Geograph
Free hot drinks, Wi-Fi and internet access, data SIM cards, and newspapers are just some of the things people can make the most of inside these ‘warm spaces’, as well as get access to information, advice, and extra signposting to other support services they made need in the city.
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There will be age-friendly spaces to connect with others, story times once a week at 11am for children under five, and even weekly digital drop-ins too.
Manchester Central Library, Miles Platting Community Library, Hulme High Street Library, Beswick Library, Longsight Library, and Abraham Moss Library are just some of the libraries taking part this winter.
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Winter is a challenging time for households, but your library has something for everyone.
They are warm welcoming spaces to have a chat, get advice and get a data SIM to get online.
All 22 libraries will be free to enter, and the Council says people can stay in them “for as long as you like”.
“Heading towards winter, we are very much aware that the cost of living crisis still continues to affect many families across Manchester,” explained Councillor Bev Craig, who is the leader of Manchester City Council.
“This is why, more so than ever, we as a Council continue to do our upmost to support people who may be struggling.
“Our participation in the Warm Welcome Spaces programme, combined with our Cost of Living support package shows we are committed entirely to helping any many people as possible during this difficult period.”
Find your local free ‘Warm Welcome Space’ in Manchester here.
Featured Image – RawPixel
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Spike in antisemitic incidents reported after Manchester synagogue terror attack
Emily Sergeant
A new report has revealed that there was a rise in antisemitic incidents reported following the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
In case you need a reminder, the shocking knife and car attack took place on 2 October 2025 on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, and during the incident, two men sadly lost their lives during the attack – Adrian Daulby, 53, who was shot dead by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) while trying to stop the attacker from entering the synagogue, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, a worshipper who also helped stop the attacker.
The attacker was named as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie – a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent who lived in Prestwich – who at the time was on bail for an alleged rape, before being shot dead by police.
In the wake of the attack, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said 40 antisemitic incidents were reported on 2 October last year, and a further 40 were reported the day after – more than half of which involved direct reactions to the deadly attack.
These were the highest daily totals in 2025.
A spike in antisemitic incidents were reported after the Manchester synagogue terror attack / Credit: Google Maps | GMP
Three of the reported incidents on 2 and 3 October involved ‘face-to-face taunting and celebration of the attack to Jewish people’, according to the CST.
39 of the reported incidents were antisemitic social media posts referencing the attack, abusive responses to public condemnations of the attack from Jewish organisations and individuals, or antagonistic emails sent to Jewish people and institutions.
The Manchester synagogue attack was the first fatal antisemitic terror attack in the UK since the CST started recording incidents in 1984.
Overall, 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents were recorded in 2025 – which is said to be up 4% on the incidents recorded in the year before – and the CST revealed that this the second-highest annual total ever recorded.
There was also a spike in reported anti-Jewish hate incidents following the Bondi Beach killings in Sydney in December of last year too, the CST said.
Dave Rich, who is the director of police at CST, told Sky News in a statement: “We need a more robust approach to the kind of extremism that drives antisemitism.
“Jewish people in Britain used to be able to go about their lives without ever thinking about antisemitism, and now it’s the topic of conversation around every dinner table. That’s new.
“It feels for a lot of Jewish people like we’re in a different world now, the atmosphere is different, the climate has changed for Jewish people and the amount of antisemitism is part of that.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Emily Sergeant -
13th November 2024 
