A great deal has already been written about David Cameron and Ian Duncan Smith’s visit to the city centre. They both praised the city a great deal, and have studied much that is working well and working poorly here. Nobody who cares about Manchester can discount what they had to say, and should not underestimate the commitment the Conservatives have to improving life for Mancunians.
David Cameron said “Its always a pleasure to come to Manchester and feel the energy and creativity here. This is one of the great cities of the world”
He then went on to say that he believed in one nation, and as such must seek to eradicate such huge gulfs between the haves and have-nots in Manchester.
He used Manchester City Council’s own figures to show the problems that exist here:
- A shocking 29% of students in Manchester Local Authority achieved just 5 or more A-C grades at GCSE in 2006, compared to a national average of 45.8 percent
- Of the 23 non-selective schools in Manchester, just 3 met the national average for 5 A-C grades at GCSE
- In 2005/06 there were 4,483 fixed period exclusions in Manchester Local Authority, expressed as a percentage of the secondary school population. This equates to almost 20%, almost double the national rate, 4th worst in the country, despite spending far more than similar authorities
- The number of Manchester’s young people going to university is significantly lower than the national rate – around 25%, compared to a national average of 43%
The city council spends a great deal of our council tax on these problems and progress is incredibly slow. Every city has its problems, but issues of education and employment are the most fundamental factors affecting people’s chances in this society, and Manchester is lagging far behind. When people look at moving here, when companies think about locating here these are the kind of spastics they look at. Manchester has grown and improved a huge amount, but if you look at the residents of the city centre apartment blocks and the new wave of employment here, you have to winder if we’re not just ‘importing’ people from elsewhere?
We need to cultivate opportunity for the local people who are born in Manchester, regardless of their background, and not just rely on drawing people from outside, although this is also vital. It is in this respect Manchester has a great deal of work to do.
