The greatest threat to democracy may no longer come from political parties but from unelected tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel and his powerful Silicon Valley network, argues JOHN GREEN
THE 0161 Festival, whose name references both the numerical code for Manchester and corresponds to the letters AFA, the acronym for anti-fascist action, is returning for its fifth year.
Starting on Thursday June 14, the action kicks off with local activists giving visitors a left-wing walking tour of the Peterloo Massacre, sites related to Chartism, the suffrage movement, and the city’s links to the writings of Frederick Engels and Karl Marx.
From Friday until Sunday the music takes in an ambitious range of genres, from traditional hard-edged Oi! and street punk, to black metal, acoustic and folk, ceilidh-influenced stylings from London-Irish band Neck, and the terrace-flecked rap-punk of the balaclava wearing Moscow Death Brigade.
by the Greater Manchester Workers’ and Tenants’ Association
BEN COWLES samples the many sonic and social therapies of Manchester Punk Festival 2026, and is ready again to smash capitalism
CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history
Fiery words from the Bard in Blackpool and Edinburgh, and Evidence Based Punk Rock from The Protest Family


