Dear readers — across the council chambers of Greater Manchester, a mass epidemic of sweating has broken out. That’s because at next month’s local elections, where a third of seats on every council are up for grabs, incumbents face the unenviable task of staving off the two insurgent parties. That means Reform UK, but it also means the Green Party, whose by-election victory in Gorton and Denton in February suggested they are set to become a major force in the area. In today's piece, Jack Dulhanty heads out into the key wards the Greens will be eyeing up and asks: Is Greater Manchester about to go Green?
The iconic Buxton International Festival returns
This summer, the internationally renowned BIF returns to the peaks for another stellar year. For almost 50 years, BIF has brought world class performances to Buxton, including opera, music, literature and jazz. It's a unique chance to get out of the city and into the stunning scenery of the high peak for a cultural summer escape. Eat, drink, watch and be merry, then hop on the direct train back to Manchester.
This year's programme includes La traviata, The Merry Widow, Manchester’s own The Hallé and an appearance from Guardian columnists John Crace. With 160 events from 9th to 26th July, you're bound to find something you'll love. To see the full line up, click below.
Some weekend to-dos
Friday: We have been promised a night of “cosmic and global grooves” at Band on the Wall, as Manchester-based band Woioi take to the Copper Bar stage. Expect a blend of Turkish psychedelia, West Coast hip-hop ,and 90s SEGA soundtracks. Tix are here.
Saturday: If last week’s Strange Quarter article has left you frothing at the mouth for more information on Manchester’s many quarters (which we imagine it has) then you can hop on a tour with the article’s quarter-expert here. He actually didn’t ask us to do this.
Sunday: And the Birch Community Centre in Rusholme will be putting on a brand new musical: Top of the Wold, “a celebration of community, culture, caravans and peas.” It looks fantastic, and you can get discounted tickets for the whole family here.
Is Greater Manchester about to go Green?
It’s Wednesday afternoon outside the Con Club in Altrincham, in the last few hours of sunlight, and no one wants to talk politics. My questions about the upcoming local election draw askance looks. People tell me it really isn’t the time. That’s probably because the Altrincham Con Club isn’t actually a Conservative Club, it’s a bar.
This building was once a working men’s club, but now it has four cocktail menus, a pretty good list of sakes, and serves a clientele of well-dressed, moneyed professionals. Over the way, on the other side of the Market Hall, stands the Conservative Social Club, a grand, winged building with a beautiful staircase and many blue-carpeted rooms. Nowadays it hosts more pool tournaments than ward meetings. “It’s not political anymore,” says the man that answers the big blue door. “The conservatives weren’t strong enough, and that’s what let them in.”
Them? He means the Green Party, who took control of all three of Altrincham’s seats on Trafford Council in 2019. That was the same year Labour won the council from the Conservatives, making the Green surge in Altrincham feel like little more than a footnote. But seven years later the Greens are ascendant nationally, and one of its Trafford councillors — Hannah Spencer — is a Manchester MP.
The threat from the Greens, not to mention Reform, has left sitting councillors across Greater Manchester thinking twice about whether they can hold onto their seats. “Incumbents everywhere are sweating,” says Robert Ford, professor of political science at The University of Manchester. “This is going to be the biggest wave of chance we have ever seen in local elections.”
The Green Party and Reform UK are expected to make big gains across the country this year. But in Greater Manchester we’re unlikely to see councils swept away or wholesale replacements of the traditional parties. That’s mostly down to the fact that only a third of every council is up for election. But Greens in areas of the city that already have a foothold — Trafford, South Manchester, Stockport — are hopeful they can ride the publicity surrounding Spencer’s win and pick up more seats than ever.
Hi! Jack here. Today’s piece, which explores how seriously to take the surge of the Green Party in southern Greater Manchester, is for paying members only. This year, we’re dedicating a reporter to cover just the local elections, and making subscriptions free to people just turning voting age so that they can make informed decisions and better understand politics in their local area.
If you’d like to support better, more insightful coverage of local politics and elections, hit the button below to subscribe.
You can help make great journalism happen.
At The Mill, we believe Manchester deserves high-quality journalism. By signing up as a member, you don’t just get the rest of this story — you get four great features delivered to your inbox every week, and the knowledge that you’re supporting a new model of local news, that puts quality and honesty first.
SubscribeAlready have an account? Sign In
