30/8 - Enough is Enough, Manchester

It's weird how different things can seem in the daylight. It's as if, from the day's dawning through to its demise, challenges faced near and far can appear non-existent. It can even feel, sometimes, like the sun's warming rays (a stretch, by British standards) bear the profound ability to render a country currently circling the drain into a period of darkness, brighter. Better. This thought failed to occur to me, as I peered through a Northern Rail window; absorbing instead the stellar view of the High Peak's distant hills, the iconic building formerly recognised as the Co-Operative pyramid - all atop Stockport's own Viaduct. But, from such a vantage point, succumbing to daylight's deceptive nature would be an effortless and easy task. One that skips over the ground-level, the reality. One that highlights only blue skies.

Well, within the towering walls of Manchester Cathedral tonight, many a Mancunian witnessed new horizons: visible to all with the eyes to seek them, fast-approaching a country in dire need of change and encapsulated in three words - 'Enough is Enough'.

The clock must've read 5PM, when we caught the train into Manchester; my mum and I having schlepped it to Stockport station after a train cancellation closer to home. Frustrating though the sudden change to our plans was, the world-class irony of this ordeal did not pass us by: one of the summer's most prominent problems decides to rear its head, disrupting our journey to a political rally? A laughable situation nonetheless, but then again, the Tory government haven't half deluged us with laughable situations recently, have they?

However much such gobsmacking affairs as soon-to-be PM Liz Truss dodging a BBC interview and soon-to-be-gone Prime Minister Boris Johnson launching a 'victory lap' tour across the country (sure to pass achievements as shimmering as the South East's shite-polluted seas, traversing the bridge across the North-South divide up to the former's fouler deprivation levels) make you want to guffaw and/or cry into your cuppa, they are, sadly, indicative of the current state of UK politics: mired in corruption and sleaze, so far to the right that it's made Farage obsolete and, most pivotally, beneficial only to those at the highest rungs of society. What's more, we've on our hands an opposition that seems to have forgotten how not to pull its punches, even as the Tories willingly hand their own backsides to them. 

What a predicament we find ourselves in. If only, in the face of a cost of living crisis, there were an organised, 500,000-pledge-strong movement on the side of the people which fiercely challenged the government to actually take action...is a thought that would soon be quelled upon seeing the thousands upon thousands, of all demographics, congregated in and around Manchester Cathedral this evening. As typical as this observation may sound, as we queued to get into the building, there genuinely pervaded in the air a feeling of imminent change, of collective struggle, of agitation; the sheer number of attendees at the event causing the generation of electricity, or so it seemed. Yet, upon entering the Cathedral - and subsequently beholding its vast, ornate beauty - we ended up wondering whether it had too many chairs. Our qualms were quashed within minutes; the overspill, created by the building's full capacity, forming a sea of intent listeners outside. 

If there lingered merely a sense of anticipation as we stood in the queue, the palpable tension had become almost overwhelming amidst the green and red lights dotted around the lectern, organ pipes looming large above and the chorus of conversations a hundred fold inside the church - all of which quietened quickly at the event's commencement. This excitement only continued to build as the first speakers took to the stage: in what was a hugely significant declaration, Mancunian faith leaders representing Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam made clear their alignment to Enough is Enough, with the Dean Rogers Govender decrying such instances as people spending entire days inside the Cathedral, to avoid the freezing temperatures of their homes - that which will become all too common, come the autumn and winter months. 

Thus, the speeches began.

Andy Burnham takes to the lectern...

Though perceived to be a daunting task, opening the night did not seem so much of an anxiety to Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, than a breeze; receiving a flurry of applause and whistles as he arose to the lectern. Talking initially about the catastrophic crises racing towards the country, his anger at the government was evident in his reference to what he described as a "surreal summer": while the "99%" grew ever wearier of the prospect of a hellish cost of living crisis, the Tories catered only to the needs and wants of the "1%" and indulged once again in "Tory infighting" as the two PM leadership candidates battled it out for No. 10. He closed his statement with an acknowledgement of the faith leaders' allegiance, highlighting the importance of the rally's chosen venue and praising Manchester as "home of the Suffragettes" as well as the battle of Peterloo and the 1787 lobbying of Thomas Clarkson to abolish slavery - all historically leftist events.

Maxine Looby speaks

Speaking on behalf of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) were Maxine Looby, its Vice President, and Dr Jo Grady, the General Secretary. Looby, an "honorary Manc" - having studied at the University of Manchester - described how teachers in further education had been "ground into the ground" over the course of 12 years under Conservative leadership; growing visibly frustrated on the matter of recent years' "hand over fist" loss in wages, while "vice chancellors take home 300-500k". Grady spoke as powerfully as her colleague, labelling the government's treatment of workers as "institutional cruelty" and stating plainly that its actions were out of "fear of an organised and educated working class".

Ian Byrne on stage

Some particularly gifted speakers also on the bill, Andrea Egan, president of UNISON, lamented the government's "slap in the face" delivered to workers' rights and Britain's current "profiteering crisis"; chairman of ACORN Manchester, Jake Johnson, beautifully summed up the issue with "they're the organised money, we're the organised people"; Ian Byrne MP of the Labour party shed light on the shocking findings suggesting that 57% of his constituents will be cutting down on meals this winter, as well as demanding for "universal free school meals" across the UK; even Bolton actress Sophie Willes, of Alma's Not Normal fame, spoke refreshingly of a key truth: "we've been in a clusterfuck for 12 fucking years!" (Cue the compere's remark of "sorry, big man"...)

Rounding off the event were two mainstays of the Enough is Enough campaign. The penultimate speaker of the night, Eddie Dempsey, Senior Assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) roused up a storm, and without notes: criticising the government's insistence of 'modernisation' - as opposed to "paying the workers a decent wage" - and grasping the energy of the room in stating that "there's a change coming". What struck me most strongly was Dempsey's main reason given for supporting EIE, as he said that "I'm here for the people I love" - reasoning that I think all of us in attendance could empathise with. 

Eddie Dempsey, the "working class philosopher" as described by Dave Ward

Taking on the top dogs...Dave Ward

Finally, meeting with the lectern was Dave Ward, the General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), who immediately ripped apart the government's favoured jargon - "'Taking back control'...'Levelling up'...what the hell does it all mean?" - to much agreement. He touched on the idea of what he terms "building collectivism," through which "trade unions come together" as opposed to being insular; reiterates with gravity that "change is not a a spectator sport"; and asks conclusively, with an uproarious response, "will you stand with us?" 

And so, as the last speaker departed the stage, and the crowds began to disperse, there remained a buzz so prominent, you'd think all who had been there to witness the event would transform into bees...a fitting fate for a Mancunian, one might say.

Overall, it was an experience unlike any other - though I can't say I've ever attended a political rally prior to Enough is Enough, Tuesday 30th August, at Manchester Cathedral. Even then, one of the pandemic's downsides was surely the decline in organised protest against the powers that be; such gatherings facing bans for a period, then otherwise deemed a risk to public health, until the virus's large decline in 2022.

Amidst this context, the imperative of rallies was certainly felt across the swathes of people gathered tonight, especially in light of the EIE slogan referred to by Jo Grady in her talk, "educate, agitate, organise" - essential tenets to the successful campaign that which EIE is striving to become. Judging by how spectacularly the house Cathedral was brought down, it's safe to presume that this vehicle for change is steadily on track towards exactly that.

As you can expect, the train journey home was considerably different to the same one of hours earlier. Perspective-wise, anyway; no longer could I get lost in the boundless, faraway hills, long since concealed by a pitch-black sky, or in the beautiful pointlessness of a big, blue pyramid. What caught my eye, this time around, were the many bright squares acting as visions into the many lives of Manchester. Each passing window told a unique story - some displaying a young couple; others, a family gathered by the TV; while thousands had their curtains closed. Despite the variety of circumstances made apparent to me as I attempted to resist the effects of motion parallax, clear in my mind was the fact that one factor bound all of these little windows, these people, together: energy.

Light. Warmth. Soon, these essentials will begin to slip out of reach for so many of the lives that my eyes flitted briefly past, aboard the train; the dim glow from their windows, gradually dwindling until left in its absence an inhospitable darkness; tragically, for the most desperate, it may soon be, simply, 'curtains'. These problems have for weeks on end become a reality for those undeserving of such horrific conditions - bleak would be an ignorant way of putting it. But there is hope.

Tonight, from start to finish, was the embodiment of hope. The idea that, no matter how insincere, and callous, and lacking of any understanding of what is facing MILLIONS in the coming months the establishment may be, there still stand legions of those on the side of decency, dignity and the rights of the people, rang undeniable in the ears of all who came to listen this evening. And - as long as there continues to be education, agitation and organisation to combat those who seek only to divide and diminish - things can get better. It'll take an effort, but if, as fruits of the labour required to bring forth change, a family can end up with enough money to get them through the week, or a child can access the meals they duly deserve, then it'll all be worth it. 

Maybe 'it's like talking to a wall with you' isn't such a bad thing, after all?