thank you so much
herb morning everybody Wow
TEDx Munster got a bit bigger since I
was here last year well it is my first
job as mayor officially to welcome you
all to Manchester a place so warm so
welcoming so open-minded that they even
went and elected somebody born in
Liverpool as their first elected mayor
what can I say about about them the home
of course of 24 Hour Party People
looking out into the audience I’m
picking up a few faces tell me that that
tradition is alive alive and well in
Munster I’m glad I’m glad it is a
radical City a radical City where
through the decades the centuries people
have thought big thoughts and changed
the world so this is the right place for
us to be meeting and actually it’s the
most fitting of weeks to be doing so a
week when we have celebrated a
Manchester girl name of Emmeline
Pankhurst from the streets of must side
who led a suffragette City with
sisterhood pride
they’re not my words I wish they were
but the words of Tony Walsh the great
Tony Walsh I’m gonna quotes you now and
mother
another Tony this one said this here it
rains and rains and yet we managed to
produce the Industrial Revolution the
trade union movement the Communist
Manifesto and even the goddamn computer
down south where the Sun never sets you
took all our money and what did you
produce Chas and Dave
somebody should definitely erect the
statue to tony wilson somewhere in this
city i’m absolutely certain of of that
my favorite manchester story is the one
that lies behind a statue just a couple
of streets from here a statue of Abraham
Lincoln in Lincoln Square and you might
wonder why does Manchester have a statue
of Abraham Lincoln well let me tell you
it goes back to 1862 the height of the
American Civil War where the breakaways
southern states the cotton states where
slavery was was rife where they were
breaking away from the Union and Lincoln
was trying to hold the country together
now this caused chaos everywhere all
over the world as people wondered what
to do but here more so than anywhere why
because then at that moment in time
Manchester Lancashire was the cotton
capital of the world and the problem was
the blockade of the southern states
meant that the cotton wasn’t coming
through so the mills were dark people
didn’t have work families didn’t have
food so they were stuck they didn’t know
what to do but they knew that the cause
was an important one and in 1862 just a
couple of buildings from here at the
Free Trade Hall there was a meeting of
the working men of Manchester and they
took a vote that night about what they
should do and they resolved
that they would not handle slave picked
cotton and in doing so in taking that
stand they helped bring an end to the
American Civil War
and it led Lincoln to praise what he
called their act of sublime Christian
heroism which hasn’t been surpassed in
any age or in any country Manchester
Manchester what a place what a place
what people that we have here in this
city humanity compassion solidarity
these are the enduring values of
Manchester and we saw them come through
again last year when as herb said
tragedy struck but the people of
Manchester weren’t going to let the
terrorists spread hate under vision they
came together they stood together in
that amazing Manchester tradition I
couldn’t have been more proud of this
place and I couldn’t be more proud of
somebody who epitomizes it so well who
you’ll hear from later today Dan het Dan
who lost his brother Martin in the
attack Dan who has been out on the
streets of Manchester and stood up to
far-right extremists who have come here
and tried to exploit his family’s
tragedy and that of 21 others dan we
salute you we are proud of you all of
Manchester is proud of you
it’s people like dan it’s places like
Manchester I hope that are giving people
a sense of optimism and what feels like
a very very dark world at times at the
moment let me just develop that theme
that herb was touching on my analysis of
what’s gone wrong with politics we are
living through a crisis in democracy why
is that happening I think it’s happening
because the world is now changing so
fast and politics the old political
structures can’t respond can’t make
sense of it we have a situation where
global companies have got bigger than
government’s so they call the shots
they set the rules about what tax
they’re going to pay what working
conditions they’re going to inflict on
their employees it’s why modern work
seems to resemble the 19th century we’ve
got a political system where power is in
the hands of too few people and if you
think about it think of our own system
in Westminster half of it the Commons
has a whip system where people can’t
necessarily do what they want to what
they think is right they’re just told to
vote with the party line the other half
of it isn’t even elected isn’t even
elected and it’s making your laws and
the people in there largely live within
the m25 so they don’t know what it’s
like to be a kid growing up in Kali
Hirst
they have no idea no idea at all and
they’re riddled with vested interests
that is our political system it’s the
one I decided to leave and the question
you’ve got to ask is what do you get
when you have that over centralized
antiquated London centric political
system you get Karelian you get
Hillsborough
you get a culture where sexual
harassment seemingly is commonplace you
get phone hacking you get a situation
where large parts of the media in the
hands of one person I think you also
though get brexit from a system like
that when you have a London centric
political system that doesn’t treat all
parts of the country equally you are
bound then to get resentment coming
through and expressing itself as it did
at the referendum so yes we have a
broken political system I I believe that
and this is not leading to two impulses
which I think won’t necessarily take us
towards an answer one of the impulses
that we see is for people to go to the
extremes of politics so to vote in the
old system but to vote for people on the
extremes particularly on the right of
politics that for me is the worst of all
worlds because in that system where you
have power concentrated in too few hands
you put people with extreme views in at
the top of it and we see that of course
in the United States so that’s not the
answer I don’t think to go to the
extremes the second impulse is also to
try and sweep it all away to kind of
tear it all down somebody gave a talk at
TEDx in Birmingham recently where he
called for liquid democracy a kind of
system in local government where there
would be no party whips no parties no
structures and it would be a kind of
mass rising of the people I can see why
that might be attractive but I don’t
think it’s the answer either because
again in an age when extremely extremism
is on the rise you can’t allow that kind
of approach where people can be voted in
without anybody really knowing what
their what their motives are so so what
is the answer then and this brings me to
the kind of crux of my talk to you today
I think here in Manchester in Greater
Manchester we have got
the beginnings of an answer to these
turbulent times in which we live the
answer doesn’t lie and go into the
extremes and giving power to the
extremes the answer lies in putting
power down maximum devolution of power
out of Westminster much closer to people
where people are so that you can begin
to open up power to people the answer I
would say is being true to the
Manchester tradition a tradition of
pragmatic radicalism that we’ve seen
through the centuries where you don’t
just tear everything down what you do is
you open up the structures to people
that was the purpose of the trade union
movement founded here 150 years ago this
year that was also the purpose of the
Suffragette movement let people have
access to the power to the levers that
make change and that has always been the
Manchester the Manchester spirit and
it’s what we’re trying to build here
where politicians don’t dictate you know
I don’t sit there and say this is how
everything must be the role of the
politician I would say in a new
healthier political system should be to
facilitate to invite people in and to
write our policies with people not do to
people do it together so let me give you
three examples of how we are trying to
do that here in Greater Manchester first
I have said I want this to be the UK’s
leading digital city so I call people
together and said write a plan with me
for how we do that and we’ve begun to do
that and what’s come through is an
amazing vision of a digital city with a
difference not just where we’re kind of
putting the the tech in the ground and
giving supports of businesses but a
digital city with a difference that
connects people together that connects
people to opportunity that you
uses new technology to tackle
homelessness and loneliness amongst
older people what a great vision and
that is our vision going forward let me
give you a second example of how we’re
trying to to build a new politics here
in Greater Manchester next month I’m
calling a green summit where we will
invite people to come not to hear what I
think should be done and say everything
that we think the leaders and the
council’s are great to munch that’s what
we want it’s actually to have an open
debate about whether Greater Manchester
should become the UK’s leading city when
it becomes to carbon neutrality I’m
gonna ask people should we set a new
date for carbon neutrality and if so
what should that they be and what ideas
can you bring to me if we do set that
new date what ideas can you bring to me
to help us achieve it together that I
would say is a new type of politics a
new way of doing things and let me just
give you a third example and it relates
to the most urgent problem that is
before our eyes that you will have seen
on your walk here this morning and it’s
the challenge of rough sleeping and
homelessness here I mentioned a few
moments ago didn’t I about how our
political system hasn’t protected people
in this global world and the most
visible expression of that is the number
of people huddled in the doorways of our
towns and our cities we are living in an
era where we have a lethal combination
of insecure work with people not knowing
how many hours they’re going to work
from one week to the next and insecure
housing where we’ve got unregulated
private landlords people are living life
now closer to the edge because of that
insecure work insecure housing and the
safety net that used to be there amongst
all people and all communities has got
big holes in it thanks to austerity so
people are falling over the edge and
then they’re falling through and they’re
ending up in those doorways
and the question is what are we going to
do about it we can’t just keep walking
past Manchester is saying to me you must
do something about it and rightly so so
next week we’re gathering our
homelessness Action Network this is a
informal network of anybody in this city
working to support people who are
homeless and we’re going to say to them
let’s get a single plan that we can get
the whole city behind that’s what we’re
going to try and agree on Thursday one
plan to meet our ambition of ending
rough sleeping here by 2020 and the way
we’re going to do it is not the old way
of politicians producing strategies and
throwing public money the way we’re
going to do it is maximize the
contribution of all sectors public
private community voluntary faith bring
everybody together behind one plan let’s
see if we can build a movement and let’s
see if we can do it together that for me
is a better way of doing politics it’s a
healthier healthier way and that’s what
we’re trying to build here in Greater
Manchester I’m going to end my talk
today with just a quote which I think
starts to summarize where I’m coming
from and everything I’ve just said it’s
a quote from somebody called Wellington
Webb who was the mayor of Denver in the
u.s. he said the 19th century was the
century of empire the 20th century the
century of national government the 21st
will be the century of cities I think he
is right and I think we are at the
forefront of that change here in Greater
Manchester it may sound a little
arrogant to make this prediction but I’m
going to do it anyway I believe in the
next decade in this country more social
change for the better is going to come
by people taking inspiration from what’s
about to happen here rather than from
direction in the old way from
Westminster in a
of parliament that is my prediction and
for those of you who hear that and maybe
are still a bit cynical about it I would
say this to you it was your
great-grandmother’s but one people the
vote it was your great-great
grandfather’s who founded the trade
union movement you Manchester have
changed the world before why on earth
can’t we go out there and do so again
thank you very much for listening
everybody thank you have a great day
[Applause]
herb morning everybody Wow
TEDx Munster got a bit bigger since I
was here last year well it is my first
job as mayor officially to welcome you
all to Manchester a place so warm so
welcoming so open-minded that they even
went and elected somebody born in
Liverpool as their first elected mayor
what can I say about about them the home
of course of 24 Hour Party People
looking out into the audience I’m
picking up a few faces tell me that that
tradition is alive alive and well in
Munster I’m glad I’m glad it is a
radical City a radical City where
through the decades the centuries people
have thought big thoughts and changed
the world so this is the right place for
us to be meeting and actually it’s the
most fitting of weeks to be doing so a
week when we have celebrated a
Manchester girl name of Emmeline
Pankhurst from the streets of must side
who led a suffragette City with
sisterhood pride
they’re not my words I wish they were
but the words of Tony Walsh the great
Tony Walsh I’m gonna quotes you now and
mother
another Tony this one said this here it
rains and rains and yet we managed to
produce the Industrial Revolution the
trade union movement the Communist
Manifesto and even the goddamn computer
down south where the Sun never sets you
took all our money and what did you
produce Chas and Dave
somebody should definitely erect the
statue to tony wilson somewhere in this
city i’m absolutely certain of of that
my favorite manchester story is the one
that lies behind a statue just a couple
of streets from here a statue of Abraham
Lincoln in Lincoln Square and you might
wonder why does Manchester have a statue
of Abraham Lincoln well let me tell you
it goes back to 1862 the height of the
American Civil War where the breakaways
southern states the cotton states where
slavery was was rife where they were
breaking away from the Union and Lincoln
was trying to hold the country together
now this caused chaos everywhere all
over the world as people wondered what
to do but here more so than anywhere why
because then at that moment in time
Manchester Lancashire was the cotton
capital of the world and the problem was
the blockade of the southern states
meant that the cotton wasn’t coming
through so the mills were dark people
didn’t have work families didn’t have
food so they were stuck they didn’t know
what to do but they knew that the cause
was an important one and in 1862 just a
couple of buildings from here at the
Free Trade Hall there was a meeting of
the working men of Manchester and they
took a vote that night about what they
should do and they resolved
that they would not handle slave picked
cotton and in doing so in taking that
stand they helped bring an end to the
American Civil War
and it led Lincoln to praise what he
called their act of sublime Christian
heroism which hasn’t been surpassed in
any age or in any country Manchester
Manchester what a place what a place
what people that we have here in this
city humanity compassion solidarity
these are the enduring values of
Manchester and we saw them come through
again last year when as herb said
tragedy struck but the people of
Manchester weren’t going to let the
terrorists spread hate under vision they
came together they stood together in
that amazing Manchester tradition I
couldn’t have been more proud of this
place and I couldn’t be more proud of
somebody who epitomizes it so well who
you’ll hear from later today Dan het Dan
who lost his brother Martin in the
attack Dan who has been out on the
streets of Manchester and stood up to
far-right extremists who have come here
and tried to exploit his family’s
tragedy and that of 21 others dan we
salute you we are proud of you all of
Manchester is proud of you
it’s people like dan it’s places like
Manchester I hope that are giving people
a sense of optimism and what feels like
a very very dark world at times at the
moment let me just develop that theme
that herb was touching on my analysis of
what’s gone wrong with politics we are
living through a crisis in democracy why
is that happening I think it’s happening
because the world is now changing so
fast and politics the old political
structures can’t respond can’t make
sense of it we have a situation where
global companies have got bigger than
government’s so they call the shots
they set the rules about what tax
they’re going to pay what working
conditions they’re going to inflict on
their employees it’s why modern work
seems to resemble the 19th century we’ve
got a political system where power is in
the hands of too few people and if you
think about it think of our own system
in Westminster half of it the Commons
has a whip system where people can’t
necessarily do what they want to what
they think is right they’re just told to
vote with the party line the other half
of it isn’t even elected isn’t even
elected and it’s making your laws and
the people in there largely live within
the m25 so they don’t know what it’s
like to be a kid growing up in Kali
Hirst
they have no idea no idea at all and
they’re riddled with vested interests
that is our political system it’s the
one I decided to leave and the question
you’ve got to ask is what do you get
when you have that over centralized
antiquated London centric political
system you get Karelian you get
Hillsborough
you get a culture where sexual
harassment seemingly is commonplace you
get phone hacking you get a situation
where large parts of the media in the
hands of one person I think you also
though get brexit from a system like
that when you have a London centric
political system that doesn’t treat all
parts of the country equally you are
bound then to get resentment coming
through and expressing itself as it did
at the referendum so yes we have a
broken political system I I believe that
and this is not leading to two impulses
which I think won’t necessarily take us
towards an answer one of the impulses
that we see is for people to go to the
extremes of politics so to vote in the
old system but to vote for people on the
extremes particularly on the right of
politics that for me is the worst of all
worlds because in that system where you
have power concentrated in too few hands
you put people with extreme views in at
the top of it and we see that of course
in the United States so that’s not the
answer I don’t think to go to the
extremes the second impulse is also to
try and sweep it all away to kind of
tear it all down somebody gave a talk at
TEDx in Birmingham recently where he
called for liquid democracy a kind of
system in local government where there
would be no party whips no parties no
structures and it would be a kind of
mass rising of the people I can see why
that might be attractive but I don’t
think it’s the answer either because
again in an age when extremely extremism
is on the rise you can’t allow that kind
of approach where people can be voted in
without anybody really knowing what
their what their motives are so so what
is the answer then and this brings me to
the kind of crux of my talk to you today
I think here in Manchester in Greater
Manchester we have got
the beginnings of an answer to these
turbulent times in which we live the
answer doesn’t lie and go into the
extremes and giving power to the
extremes the answer lies in putting
power down maximum devolution of power
out of Westminster much closer to people
where people are so that you can begin
to open up power to people the answer I
would say is being true to the
Manchester tradition a tradition of
pragmatic radicalism that we’ve seen
through the centuries where you don’t
just tear everything down what you do is
you open up the structures to people
that was the purpose of the trade union
movement founded here 150 years ago this
year that was also the purpose of the
Suffragette movement let people have
access to the power to the levers that
make change and that has always been the
Manchester the Manchester spirit and
it’s what we’re trying to build here
where politicians don’t dictate you know
I don’t sit there and say this is how
everything must be the role of the
politician I would say in a new
healthier political system should be to
facilitate to invite people in and to
write our policies with people not do to
people do it together so let me give you
three examples of how we are trying to
do that here in Greater Manchester first
I have said I want this to be the UK’s
leading digital city so I call people
together and said write a plan with me
for how we do that and we’ve begun to do
that and what’s come through is an
amazing vision of a digital city with a
difference not just where we’re kind of
putting the the tech in the ground and
giving supports of businesses but a
digital city with a difference that
connects people together that connects
people to opportunity that you
uses new technology to tackle
homelessness and loneliness amongst
older people what a great vision and
that is our vision going forward let me
give you a second example of how we’re
trying to to build a new politics here
in Greater Manchester next month I’m
calling a green summit where we will
invite people to come not to hear what I
think should be done and say everything
that we think the leaders and the
council’s are great to munch that’s what
we want it’s actually to have an open
debate about whether Greater Manchester
should become the UK’s leading city when
it becomes to carbon neutrality I’m
gonna ask people should we set a new
date for carbon neutrality and if so
what should that they be and what ideas
can you bring to me if we do set that
new date what ideas can you bring to me
to help us achieve it together that I
would say is a new type of politics a
new way of doing things and let me just
give you a third example and it relates
to the most urgent problem that is
before our eyes that you will have seen
on your walk here this morning and it’s
the challenge of rough sleeping and
homelessness here I mentioned a few
moments ago didn’t I about how our
political system hasn’t protected people
in this global world and the most
visible expression of that is the number
of people huddled in the doorways of our
towns and our cities we are living in an
era where we have a lethal combination
of insecure work with people not knowing
how many hours they’re going to work
from one week to the next and insecure
housing where we’ve got unregulated
private landlords people are living life
now closer to the edge because of that
insecure work insecure housing and the
safety net that used to be there amongst
all people and all communities has got
big holes in it thanks to austerity so
people are falling over the edge and
then they’re falling through and they’re
ending up in those doorways
and the question is what are we going to
do about it we can’t just keep walking
past Manchester is saying to me you must
do something about it and rightly so so
next week we’re gathering our
homelessness Action Network this is a
informal network of anybody in this city
working to support people who are
homeless and we’re going to say to them
let’s get a single plan that we can get
the whole city behind that’s what we’re
going to try and agree on Thursday one
plan to meet our ambition of ending
rough sleeping here by 2020 and the way
we’re going to do it is not the old way
of politicians producing strategies and
throwing public money the way we’re
going to do it is maximize the
contribution of all sectors public
private community voluntary faith bring
everybody together behind one plan let’s
see if we can build a movement and let’s
see if we can do it together that for me
is a better way of doing politics it’s a
healthier healthier way and that’s what
we’re trying to build here in Greater
Manchester I’m going to end my talk
today with just a quote which I think
starts to summarize where I’m coming
from and everything I’ve just said it’s
a quote from somebody called Wellington
Webb who was the mayor of Denver in the
u.s. he said the 19th century was the
century of empire the 20th century the
century of national government the 21st
will be the century of cities I think he
is right and I think we are at the
forefront of that change here in Greater
Manchester it may sound a little
arrogant to make this prediction but I’m
going to do it anyway I believe in the
next decade in this country more social
change for the better is going to come
by people taking inspiration from what’s
about to happen here rather than from
direction in the old way from
Westminster in a
of parliament that is my prediction and
for those of you who hear that and maybe
are still a bit cynical about it I would
say this to you it was your
great-grandmother’s but one people the
vote it was your great-great
grandfather’s who founded the trade
union movement you Manchester have
changed the world before why on earth
can’t we go out there and do so again
thank you very much for listening
everybody thank you have a great day
[Applause]
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