Has Noel Gallagher broken a century-old covenant?

Dear readers — welcome back to this, The Mill, an exclusive private member’s club for the cream of Mancunian society. With the announcement that our newest rival, Soho House – a glitzy-if-controversial club – will be arriving at St John’s at the end of November, we’d like to remind our members of a basic truth. We might not have a rooftop pool, or an exclusive brasserie, massage beds or clubhouses in Miami or Barcelona, or indeed a clubhouse anywhere at all. Nor, we admit, are you likely to see James Corden or Prince Harry wandering our halls, but what we do have is each other (and long-form journalism, obviously).

Right, moving on. Today’s briefing covers everything from the Soho House launch to the sacred covenant of Wythenshawe Park, and from the man pretending to have Richard Branson’s ear to the continued ascent of Andy Burnham in his journey to becoming the most talked about man on the planet. We hope there’s something in there for you. 

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So you want to be a Global Banker…

Last week, The Mill published a piece about the Global Banking School, a ‘franchised’ higher education provider with a big Manchester campus which has seen extraordinary growth over the past few years. Our piece aired the views of former staff at the school who say that growth has little to do with the quality of teaching at GBS, instead positing that students with little academic merit are allowed onto courses, maximising the money the school earns from tuition fees even though many of these students lack the intention or ability to ever complete their degrees. In short, the taxpayer often ultimately foots the bill. What that piece didn’t include was the stats as to exactly how many GBS students actually finish their degrees — because they’re quite hard to access online. Anyway, after that story, GBS reached out saying we had “conveniently ignored” facts which paint their school in a positive light, such as, they say, the fact that less than half of students who attend admissions assessments are accepted onto courses.

Since then, thanks to one kind Mill reader, we’ve got our hands on some more stats, showing exactly how successful GBS students across all campuses were in the period between 2019 and 2023. Let’s dive in. The numbers show that over a four year period, 76.4% of students continued into the second year of their degree, which, in fairness, is only a touch below the 77% benchmark and the 80% threshold outlined by the Office for Students (that latter score, the threshold, is the standard score expected of OFS-regulated providers, but the former is tailored given the subjects on offer at GBS). So far, not too terrible. However, things get much worse when looking at the ‘completion’ metric: how many students actually finished their course. This shows that only 64.6% of students qualified from GBS, well below the threshold (75%) and still below the benchmark (67.7%). Then, when we get to ‘progress into graduate level employment’ things get really bad. Here GBS has a score of 42.1%, compared to the 60% threshold and the 55.5% benchmark. That’s a lot of loans going unpaid. And not a lot of global bankers.

Burnham’s busy weekend

The weekend papers read like one long job interview for Andy Burnham, as his attempts to talk down his pitch to become Prime Minister have fallen away and he has used a series of interviews to set out his stall. But does his record in Greater Manchester bode well for a move to No.10? Fresh scrutiny has been applied to Burnham’s failure to stop homelessness (one of his first campaign promises), build social homes (of 10,000 promised by 2028, work has only started on 10), and his decision to lend nearly a billion pounds of public money to one developer — Renaker — to build city centre skyscrapers owned mostly by foreign investors. Indeed, in one interview with the Financial Times, on the topic of spending on housing, Burnham said “the commitment was given to 60 per cent of it being social and affordable. I would make that 100 per cent.” Yet Renaker, who Burnham’s GMCA has lent £800m to, is yet to build any affordable units.

Elsewhere, Burnham has been framed as a homely, northern bloke-ish alternative to Starmer and the sanitised world of Westminster. In a profile in the New Statesman, editor Tom McTague was left grinning at Burnham calling him “lad”. The article went on to use the word “lad” a dozen more times. “It was a bit vomit-inducing,” one local councillor said this morning. But the article did allow Burnham to outline his ambitions to bring utilities back under public control under “Manchesterism”, described as a “consensual, business-friendly socialism”, that has allowed Greater Manchester’s economy to boom. But the Times argued most of that development has been the aftermath of work done by Sirs Howard Bernstein and Richard Leese. “He’s had a really easy ride here,” a senior councillors says about Burnham, surrounded as he is by Greater Manchester's mostly Labour council leaders. Some have been left wondering whether he has the mettle for the role of PM: “When things have been hairy — the clean air zone, the spatial framework —  it always has felt like he just wants to be loved,” they say. “As soon as it gets tasty, he collapses, rolls back.”

Questions also remain over the logistics of Burnham’s return to Westminster. Andrew Gwynne — the MP for Gorton and Denton originally thought to be vacating his seat to make way for Burnham — has ruled out stepping down. But it’s understood Burnham is considering piecing together a campaign team to launch a leadership bid after next year’s local elections in May, where Labour are expected to suffer heavy losses.

Strike-off; Labour woes in Woodhouse Park; another mill fire

🟩 The Greens came out on top in the Woodhouse Park by-election last Thursday, with Reform coming second and Labour third. This is despite the Reform candidate for the ward doing next to no campaigning and rumoured to have been dropped by the party (Mills Passim), and not turning up to the count. It speaks to the difficulties that may be facing Labour across the board in Greater Manchester, if a local campaign team in such disarray could still come out ahead.

🚒 Another mill in Greater Manchester has burnt down. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue were called to Pioneer Mill, in Radcliffe, on Saturday night. One firefighter was seriously injured, and now the service has started an investigation to "identify any learning and help ensure all our firefighters are as safe as possible when dealing with the significant risks we face in our roles". It comes three months after the Hotspur Press burnt down in June.

🚌 Bus strikes across Greater Manchester were called off at the last minute. 2,000 drivers were set to walk out tomorrow and Thursday, but following weekend negotiations most have opted to continue working as normal.

In our inbox: The covenant of Wythenshawe Park

One reader got in touch over the weekend, to tell us a bit about the history of Wythenshawe Park. Back in 2015, said anonymous reader had attempted to stage a small family event in the public park — but was forbidden to do so, on the grounds that almost 100 years ago the park was placed under “a restrictive covenant that [it] never be used for commercial activities,” (or so says the email we received).

In 1926, it transpires, Wythenshawe Park was presented to the Manchester Corporation (these days: Manchester City Council) "to be kept forever as an open space for the people of Manchester". Even Sacha Lord was prevented from moving Parklife to the area in 2013, stating, seemingly incorrectly, that "[t]he covenant at Wythenshawe dated back some hundreds of years ago, when an aristocrat handed the park to the council with the caveat that local residents had a say on what happened at the park." This begs the obvious question: why was Noel Gallagher allowed to play there in 2023 – the first large event of its kind in the park – and why is there a whole festival booked to occur at the park next year? If you know anything at all about Wythenshawe Park or the legality of century-old covenants, drop us a comment below.

Open newsroom: Soho House (finally) hits the North

🍸 We never thought this day would come, but Soho House Manchester officially has an opening date. The polarising members club will be coming to St John’s on the 25th of November — just in time to enjoy the rooftop pool. Obviously, we have to do a story on it. If any Mill members have strong feelings or connections to the First Soho House of the North then please get in touch with Jack (Dulhanty) here, and if any of you are planning on applying to be members (for a starting-price of £2,400 a year) then you can do so via this link (and then, ideally, invite us along).

This week's weather

Tuesday ⛅ Dry and pleasant with spells of autumn sunshine. Max 17°C.

Wednesday 🌦️ Cloudy with patchy light rain during the morning ahead of a drier afternoon. Max 15°C.

Thursday ⛅Breezy and dry with bright spells. Feeling quite warm. Max 18°C.

Friday 🌦️Mostly cloudy and breezy with occasional light showers. Max 18°C. 

Weekend 🌧️ Mild but turning windy and unsettled with spells of rain, especially on Saturday. 

Home of the Week

Fancy a fixer-upper? This 3-bed in New Moston has been described by the estate agents as “a true Tardis” — but it might need a new wallpaper job. £275,000.

What we’re reading

The many faces of “Sir” Marco Robinson, The man who grifted aspiring filmmakers with claims about being a “#2 Netflix” producer — Deadline

Marco Robinson, from Manchester, certainly isn’t short of successful gigs, ranging from bestselling author to property tycoon, and from motivational speaker to film producer (as well as his work in philanthropy where his charity aims to “end homelessness”). He is, in his own words, a “global icon,” and a friend of the rich and famous, having been apparently invited to speak at Necker Island by Richard Branson and was awarded a prestigious title by the King of Malaysia. This Deadline article details how Robinson’s claims slowly unravelled. 

From Merseyside to the Middle East: Rae McGrath’s mission to rid the world of landmines – The Post

Writing for our sister paper in Liverpool, The Post, longtime Mill Media contributor David Barnett travels to Northern Iraq with the Mines Advisory Group, an NGO founded in Liverpool and headquartered in Manchester, co-ordinating the safe explosion of mines and other explosive devices across the planet. Barnett spoke with Rae McGrath, the organisation’s founder. ‘[He] was born on bonfire night, 1947” Barnett writes. “The flashes and bangs of the November 5th celebrations laying out the path the boy who became known as Rae would follow.’

What our writers are up to this week

🚶Ophira’s been digging deep into the underworld of Manchester walking tours for over a week now… but she’s not actually been on one yet. Well that changes tomorrow, when she’s heading off to meet Josh from Free Manchester Walking Tours for a stroll around the city. The daily saunters start at 11am, meeting at the Alan Turing Memorial.

🌳Jack D is heading to Performing Trees, a new exhibition opening at the Whitworth tomorrow. It explores the role of trees in art, as companions, symbols, and allegories in and off themselves. It is set to turn background dressings into central characters. More here.

🍺In honour of the return of the cream of Manchester, the other cream of Manchester (the Mill team) went along to the launch of Boddington’s at the Founder’s Hall last week. While we can’t go back in time and get you on the guest list, we can recommend you join in the merriment at one of the many pubs around town where the drink is back on cask. We’d pick Thomas's Chophouse.

We want to hear what you’re up to, too. Send the gig you’re looking forward to, your new favourite lunch spot, or the latest opening in your neighbourhood to us here.