The council were advised to not get in bed with Abu Dhabi by human rights campaigners. Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein rejected this recommendation, defending them as 'business people' and ignoring their human rights abuses.
Last year, Sir Howard Bernstein retired from the council and was
employed by Abu Dhabi to oversee the project which he'd green lit.
I'm not saying that's corrupt, but it absolutely probably 100% is.
Manchester has a proud history of supporting the working classes and even
Abraham Lincoln and the fight against slavery.
Indeed,
Peterloo, an account of the murders of protesters at a mass pro-democracy protest in Manchester, has just been released at the cinemas. A film, which received its world premiere at a special LFF screening in Manchester, is now being championed by a city who sold itself out to a repressive, oil-rich state.
I'm sure Howard Bernstein sleeps in extreme comfort.
Richard Leese continues to sell off publicly owned spaces in Manchester to property developers from outside of the city and across the world. There's no suggestion that he profits from this personally, but he did get
arrested for hitting a 16-year old girl in the face. So you wouldn't put corruption beyond his moral code or lack of.
Football aside, this is shameful.
Sadly, this is not uncommon in a city which seems determined to exchange its history and values for foreign investment.
A Labour council in name only.
I don't give a feck about FFP or dodgy sponsorship deals.
Looking past who this people are for short-term riches is intrinsically un-Mancunian.
The Citizens indeed.