Today, we wish everyone well in their Manchester Pride activities, but do not forget, the Gay Village was promised to be protected and 19 months later there are still no updates from that same dire Council leadership.
In a recent tweet, Manchester Lib Dems have launched a new petition with a focus to ''make the Gay Village sparkle all year round''. The point is important regardless of "tribal" politics which is a safe get-out clause for a failing cities leadership and that they will not commit to ensuring the protection of LGBTQ Manchester heritage.
Their "Let's restore pride in the Gay Village Petition" aims are:
"We, the undersigned, call upon Manchester City Council to declare the entire Gay Village to be a Conservation Area and ensure that the LGBT+ community have a secure and safe space in which the Manchester Pride Festival can take place every year with tall the main components of the festival remaining within the area known as "Manchester's Gay Village".
Sign the petition here http://mgcb-libdems.org.uk/McrGayVillage
As per section 106 legislation, developers with projects in the immediate vicinity of the gay village are required to make contributions that go to funding improvements in the village; however, Labour Cllrs chose not to collect any from current developments and just £6k in 5 years! The whole development scandal of the area being given to Stephenson Studio with CEO Simpson Hugh was another scandal for an area they want to profiteer from.
This petition is now aged but we hope you do not them let a toxic leadership get away with it again and there have been no updates, just broken promises and another toxic carpark destined for the area.
We see scandals across the city including the Gay Village and across the city from Ancoats to Angel Gardens, to Hulme, and failures in heritage, destroying green spaces, contempt for the civic community, destruction, filth, private interests in political development, avoiding social and community housing, and the destruction of imagination and possibility.
Let's not forget that the political leadership of Manchester, works with human rights abuser (UAE ADUG) in private luxury property cartels and this is having an impact in other parts of an angry city. These issues remain, as Amnesty International, The Public Meeting Group and Human Rights Watch deplore the Manchester leadership and their "golden circle" interests of developers (see #FreeAhmed and article https://medium.com/@NcGeehan/the-men-behind-man-city-a-documentary-not-coming-soon-to-a-cinema-near-you-14bc8e393e06
The hypocrisy is astounding as are the citywide failures of a too-long leadership that don't care for you. Indeed, solicitors are researching senior Senior Councillors (Karney) who had to apologise for bullying people on camera. The harassment of, blocking of, ignoring and denigrating people who care for their city is a well-practised leaders tool. This continues with a world-famed area and people, being let down by politicians. The risks LGBTQ to Manchester cannot be underestimated.
We see already Pride celebrations are late, despite the huge ticket prices and exclusionary, profit-focused charlatan leadership who passed on the Gay Village to their developer chums and refuse real possibilities for the area. What is late is an SRF strategic document that has never appeared and was forced through by complicit Councillors who fail the area.
In your celebrations, do not forget, the leadership of the city and it's damaged politics are the biggest risk to the thriving successes of YOU the LGBTQ people.
Good luck Manchester. You have to fight this contingency and represent demands for better, like many across the city and across campaigning frontiers.
The contempt people are held in and the damage of politicians and planners is your biggest threat to a better city.
Hold your voice, power and imagination with Pride!
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