Greater Manchester’s universities are at war

Plus, the story of a Czech Roma lorry driver who built a new life in Manchester

Dear readers — welcome to our Monday briefing.

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, if the University of Bolton is to be believed. The university has applied to the Office for Students to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester, which it says will enhance graduate opportunities. But in doing so, the university has attracted the ire of three rival universities — the University of Manchester, the University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan — who have all raised legal objections. That’s our big story for today.

We also have a lovely story in the Guardian about a Czech Roma lorry driver who built a new life in Manchester, and some news about our latest event…

We’re delighted to have been invited to speak to Tortoise Media for their flagship podcast, The News Meeting, about the stories we think should shape the news agenda in the run up to the general election. Our founder and editor Joshi Herrmann will be sitting down with longtime Miller and Tortoise editor James Harding, at Material Source Studio on Monday 1 July. If you’d like to come along and listen to a live recording of the interview, you can get tickets here.

A massive thank you to everyone who signed up as a paying subscriber after reading Jack Dulhanty’s long read about Rochdale and the political candidates fighting for the soul of the town. Over the next few weeks we’ll be giving you a much deeper insight into Greater Manchester’s general election — looking at the real issues behind the headline polling numbers. To receive our full election coverage, please subscribe today. 

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🌤️ This week’s weather

Rejoice! Our local weatherman Martin Miles says this week is feeling much more like summer, with plenty of dry weather to enjoy.

Tuesday 🌦️ Occasional sunny spells in the afternoon, with a risk of heavy showers. 18°C.

Wednesday 🌤️ Dry and pleasantly warm with sunny spells. Light winds. 20°C.

Thursday 🌤️ Warm and dry with a generous amount of sunny spells. Light winds. 21°C.

Friday 🌦️ Warm and bright at times, but with the threat of showers as low pressure edges closer from the Atlantic. 22°C.

Weekend 🌦️ Breezy and less settled with more of a mix of sunny spells and showers. Still pleasant enough, with temperatures easily peaking in the high teens.

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The big story: Lawfare breaks out among city region’s universities

Top line: The University of Bolton is embroiled in a bitter legal feud with three other universities after requesting to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester. 

The Guardian reports that the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford have launched 100 legal challenges against the University of Bolton over its use of legal trademarks, and the potential for the name change to be “misleading and confusing”.

Lawyer up: The Guardian has seen a letter from George Holmes, vice chancellor of the University of Bolton, to the Office for Students chief executive Susan Lapworth, where Holmes suggests the university is prepared to mount a counteroffensive against the other three universities.

“Cartel”: Holmes doesn’t hold back, accusing the other universities of acting as a “cartel” and writing that he was concerned by the “unlawful anti-competitive behaviour by a small but powerful collective of Manchester-based higher education institutions”. He goes on to assert that the legal challenges were an attempt to stifle competition.

George Holmes, vice chancellor of the University of Bolton. Photo: George Holmes.

What’s in a name? The University of Bolton’s pro-vice chancellor Greg Walker argued that “the current and misleading provincial university name holds back determined efforts by the institution to enhance graduate employment,” in evidence submitted to the Office for Students in support of a change. In an in-depth interview with the Guardian last October, the university’s vice chancellor George Holmes went further, saying that talented graduates were missing out on top jobs due to employers’ prejudices against Bolton. “There is an enormous amount of historical legacy associated with people’s perspectives and perceptions on universities, and it leads to thinking: ‘Oxford and Cambridge good, Bedford and Bolton bad’, just because they’ve not heard of us before,” Holmes said.

Location, location, location: Holmes also insists the university has a logical reason for wanting to change its name, as its campuses are spread out across the region.

Just a bolt-on: Already the university logo describes itself as “UoB Manchester”, has a “Greater Manchester Business School”, and the M-word features heavily on its website. But some locals aren’t happy with this attempt by the university to distance itself from its local roots. Speaking to the Telegraph in September, former Horwich and Blackrod First party councillor Craig Rotheram accused the university of being “more interested in chasing the money than retaining the heritage and history of an institution that’s been around for over 200 years”. 

That’s not helped by the fact that many in Bolton never bought into the idea of “Greater Manchester” in the first place. As we reported last summer, the town is rife with parties and petitions looking to put Bolton back in Lancashire.

Foreign cash: It’s suspected that the real motivation for the rebrand is about attracting international students, who tend not to be completely au fait with Northern mill towns. Holmes more or less said as much when he told the Guardian last October: “[Students] want a qualification that’s instantly recognised, and everybody in the world has heard of the city of Manchester and the region of Greater Manchester… In many cases, Bolton has not been heard of.” (A spokesperson for the University of Bolton denied it was aiming to attract “one particular group”, reiterating its ambitions to draw in “a wide range” of students). 

The magic of Manchester: Last year, the University of Manchester published accounts showing an annual income of £1.3 billion — roughly ten times the University of Bolton (£136 million). According to data obtained by the student newspaper The Tab, the University of Manchester made over £356 million of its income in 2022 from international students’ fees, an increase of 16.6% from the year before. 

You can see why the University of Bolton might want to catch some of that Manchester stardust — though its top team isn't doing too badly as it is. Vice chancellor George Holmes has been criticised in the past for claiming that university vice chancellors don’t earn enough, despite owning a yacht and a Bentley.

Bottom line: The consultation on the university’s name change has now closed. The Office for Students haven’t indicated what the likely outcome is — but if it’s about to get very legal, then this one could run for a while. It all depends on how much the University of Bolton really thinks the “Greater Manchester” name is worth.

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Your Mill briefing

🗣️ GMCA statement: Last week, we published a members-only story that looked into why the Arts Council awarded Sacha Lord’s company Primary Events Solutions over £400k of taxpayers’ money. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority have got in touch to give the following statement: “The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has no role in the Arts Council England grant assessment process, and had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the writing or submission of the application.”

🏥 Hayley Cowan, a 29-year-old woman with paranoid schizophrenia, died after running away from her support worker while on a trip out of the Edenfield centre, the psychiatric unit in Prestwich where she was being detained. Hayley was taken out of Edenfield in June 2022, and ran away to her friend's flat when she and her support worker both went to the toilet. She died at her friend’s flat after taking drugs.

🏢 The former Spinningfields site of WeWork, the workspace provider that went bankrupt last November (emerging from bankruptcy yesterday), has been bought by another (less bankrupt) workspace provider Cubo. The company has signed a 12.5 year lease on the 60,000 sq ft site in No.1 Spinningfields. We wrote about Spinningfields’ office space last month, and how its glassy corporate towers are less popular than you might think. 

🏨 Demolition work has started on Owens Park, the iconic student tower block that was home to Benedict Cumberbatch, Rik Mayall and the Chemical Brothers’ first gig. It closed back in 2021 and will be replaced by accommodation for 5,400 students, meaning the student population in surrounding Fallowfield will swell even further. (For more on that, and the impact it has on surrounding locals, read: Where is Manchester supposed to put its students?).

🛶 Finally, this summer you will be able to paddle 3.5 miles through Standedge Tunnel, the underground canal that connects West Yorkshire and Manchester. The trips, which the Canal and River Trust hopes will help plug a funding gap left by government spending cuts, take you through an incredible feat of engineering. Opened in 1811, the tunnel is both 194 metres underground (beneath the Pennines) and 196 metres above sea level.

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Home of the week

This two-bedroom apartment is in a converted Victorian mill in Castlefield, with beautiful wooden panelling, exposed brick and large windows. £290,000.

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Our favourite reads

Pongo Calling review – Roma lorry driver turns viral activist after political persecution — The Guardian

Fleeing persecution for his Roma heritage, Czech Roma lorry driver Štefan Pongo built a new life for himself in Manchester 15 years ago. But “the persecution faced by his community never strayed far from Pongo’s mind”, and after the former president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, claimed in a speech that the Roma community was resistant to work, Pongo encouraged people from his community to publish photos of themselves at work. The Guardian describes this documentary about Pongo’s activism as “a nuanced gem”. Available to watch on True Story from 21 June.

House of the Dragon’s Olivia Cooke: ‘I’m 30 and I’m playing a grandma’ — The Times

“I do have a chip on my shoulder about being working class,” says Olivia Cooke, who started her life as an actress at the Oldham Theatre Workshop and is now best-known for playing a leading role in the Game of Thrones spin off, House of the Dragon. Cooke says she was confronted with an industry that felt “exclusive”, and admits that she’s deliberately changed her accent to sound more southern. “Oi, Liv, where’s your accent gone, then?” a Mancunian co-star teased recently.

The Rhyme of the Ancient Marketer — The Fence

Mike Garry, a spoken word poet who turned to advertising to make his fortune, has become the go-to writer whenever a football club or a major broadcaster “needs a sprinkle of poetic magic to zhuzh up a matchday”. Despite his major success — Garry claims to work closely with Manchester United, the Premier League and the BBC — he remains mostly unheard of, operating behind the scenes. “Someone at the BBC once told me: ‘You either get your name out there, or you get paid’,” Garry says, who has tended to choose the latter. 

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Our to do list

Tuesday

🎭 There’s a modern adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s farcical comedy The Importance of Being Earnest at the Royal Exchange Theatre, which promises to bring “profound triviality” to the portrayal of luxury life. Tickets start at £10.

😆 In the basement of a bar in the Northern Quarter, Creatures Comedy Club is building a reputation as the strongest comedy night in Manchester. There’s live comedy every night of the week, and we recommend getting down for a midweek boost.

Wednesday

🌲 Facing North, a local theatre company that specialises in putting on performances in unusual places, presents Shakespeare’s dreamy romance A Midsummer Night’s Dream, showing on Castlefield Viaduct for four nights only. £17.

🏊 To celebrate Summer Solstice, there’s an evening of celebrations at Sale Water Park that includes a hearty vegan dinner, a sunset swim and a guided breathwork session. Tickets here.

Thursday 

📚 The Portico Library presents a new exhibition on folk traditions, featuring 100 stories that outline the ancient practices of folklore. Until November.

🎦 The National Theatre’s Nye, a play starring Michael Sheen that pays tribute to Aneurin Bevan, the Welsh minister who spearheaded the creation of the NHS, is showing on screen at HOME. Tickets here.