University of Manchester students to vote in referendum on President Nancy Rothwell’s future
The vote is being called a "historic and unprecedented step" for students, with the referendum described as the first of its kind in almost 200 years of UoM's history.
University of Manchesterstudents will vote on a referendumof ‘no confidence’ in President Nancy Rothwell and senior staff in March.
The poll is being described as a “historic and unprecedented step” and the first of its kind in almost 200 years of UoM’s history.
Campaigners have argued a vote of no confidence in Rothwell and her team will send a “resounding message” and “make it abundantly clear that their positions are completely untenable”.
The announcement of the referendum alone has piled more pressure on the university’s key figures – who are being accused by students of “repeated failures and broken promises” throughout the pandemic.
Voting will take place from 8-11 March, with results published on 12 March.
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When contacted for comment, a University of Manchester spokesperson responded: “The pandemic has caused a great deal of disruption for students, and they have not been able to have the university experience they would have expected.
“We have all worked very hard to provide all our students with the best possible learning and student experience in these unprecedented and challenging circumstances. We have not got everything right, but we are committed to working closely with student representatives to address concerns and meet student needs.”
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On Monday 8th, nominations will open for the next Exec team, Part-Time Officers and NUS delegates.
We will also be facilitating an all-student referendum on behalf of our membership, as a result of a petition we received.
— University of Manchester Students’ Union (@ManchesterSU) February 1, 2021
Local students have experienced a disruptive academic year in 2020/21; with the vast majority required to participate in most lectures via video link due to COVID restrictions.
Relationships between students and management staff were strained early on due to isolation requirements and complaints over the quality of food parcels delivered to halls.
Other residents claimed they had experienced issues with accommodation; such as leaking roofs and flooding.
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In November, students at the university’s Fallowfield campus tore down security fences that had been put up overnight without warning.
Protest groups also occupied the derelict Owens Park to demand rent refunds for the first semester, blasting the UoM’s initial two-week reduction offer as a “slap in the face” before settling on a 30% discount.
Rothwell was also forced to issue a public apology following a ‘racial profiling’ incident at university halls in which one student was pinned up against a wall by security staff and accused of looking “like a drug dealer.”
@BenMcGowan_
UoM published a pledge at the end of 2020, admitting it “hadn’t got everything right”.
But tensions in the student community have continued into semester two; both in Manchester and beyond.
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Campaigns have been taking place across uni campuses in 2021 – being described as the “biggest student protests in 40 years.”
In January, student accommodation platform Housemates called on the government to provide urgent financial aid to students and halls during the national lockdown.
A £50 million support fund was announced last week – with the money set to be distributed by the Office for Students (OfS) directly to universities.
But the University and College Union (UCU) described the measure as a “sticking plaster”.
General secretary Jo Grady said: “Small-scale funding packages like this are simply a sticking plaster and not the answer to the widespread problems facing the sector. The Government needs to go further and provide proper funding to avoid irreparable long-term damage to the sector’s reputation.”
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…