The Post

03/12/2024

Can a cash infusion from the government revitalise Liverpool’s music scene?

The metro mayor is correct when he says that Liverpool has a long and proud history as one of the world’s most iconic places for music. But in recent times, it has distinguished itself internationally not with home-grown talent like The Beatles, but by embracing Eurovision and Taylor Swift through kitschy initiatives like “Taylor Town.” Meanwhile, the “vibrant” live music scene Rotheram lauds has been affected by venue closures or enforced studio relocations. This has made Liverpool feel less like a unique “City of Music” and more like — well, anywhere else, really.

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29/11/2024

“We are just ignored. We just cough, we get old, we die.”

Last Saturday, the residents of Garston woke in the early morning to a strange and unsettling noise: a high-pitched siren, cutting loudly through the mist. The local WhatsApp group lit up with messages. “Can anyone else hear that?” one woman asked. A neighbour responded with a blurry video taken outside his home, showing the weak light of nearby lampposts as that same siren blared out into the dark.

Soon afterward, a strong chemical smell drifted across the district. “It stung my eyes,” one resident tells me. According to witness testimony, both the sound and smell were coming from a hazardous chemical recycling plant on nearby Blackburne Street, operated by a company called Veolia.

Over the last few years, the people of Garston have been raising alarms about the plant — and their concerns went into overdrive earlier this year, when Veolia was granted planning permission to expand its site, allowing it to process even more hazardous chemicals. Over 600 residents objected to these plans, worried about the impact the expansion would have on their health and wellbeing. But the council decided nonetheless to give the plans the green light.

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28/11/2024

Last month, a Post exclusive revealed that the operators of the Isla Gladstone Conservatory, T.I.G.C Ltd, owed a substantial debt of over £350,000 to Liverpool City Council — a shortfall the council were considering writing off as unrecoverable. Since then, T.I.G.C Ltd have disputed both that figure and the write-off to The Echo, but they did not provide a different amount.

Now, The Post can reveal that not only did T.I.G.C.’s lease of the building — and right of occupancy — expire in 2019, but its two directors, Gemma and Gary McGowan, together made £1.69 million on the sales of two new build properties in the six years between 2015 and 2021. Charlotte Robson delves into the McGowans’ lucrative financial dealings, made while thousands that could have gone towards vital public services went unpaid.

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03/08/2024

'Everyone's done their best to kill the place'

31/07/2024

Last night, as Southport Mosque was being peppered with bricks, a woman jostled through the crowd. She had just wrestled her banner back from a man who had snatched it from her. She shouted “f**k off” and held it up.

“One Race — Human. Hope, not hate. Racism not welcome here”.

The protest had begun after flyers circulated online instructed people to meet a short walk from Hart Street, where the previous day an assailant had launched a frenzied knife attack on a group of children attending a Taylor Swift dance class.

Our reporter Jack Walton was there all night for the protest. At 8pm, he heard a man shout “let’s go smash up the mosque”.

Then chaos ensued. In total, at least 39 officers sustained injuries during last night's protest, according to the North West Ambulance Service, while 27 were taken to hospital.

Flares, bricks and bottles were thrown at police and at a nearby mosque, with a police van set alight.

We have not paywalled this piece as we believe this on-the-ground reporting from the riot in Southport last night should be accessible to all readers. Link below.

Last night was supposed to be a moment to commemorate the victims of a tragedy. We were there as it descended into a violent and bloody riot

27/07/2024

What the 20-year battle between Halebank and Halton Council tells us about a scheme designed to ‘add £850m to the local economy’

06/07/2024

Partying in your PJs, p***s paraphernalia and the importance of drag

27/06/2024

There are just ten days left to apply to join us as a staff writer. Applications close next Sunday (July 7th) and we would be grateful if you could share this post with anyone you think might be interested in applying.

It’s a fantastic role — one of the few jobs in British journalism where you get proper time to work on stories and work with top-class editors (people who have contributed to The Guardian and The New York Times) who really care about good writing and the quality of what we publish.

https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/were-hiring-a-staff-writer-in-liverpool

22/06/2024

https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/the-best-street-art-takes-us-somewhere

Armed with a step-ladder and a bottle of white spirit, David Lloyd goes on a tour of Liverpool's public art

15/06/2024

As Everton mulls over £400 million of Saudi gold, David Lloyd recounts a personal loss of faith

08/06/2024

'We keep getting the same message from them. In plain terms, that the town has gone to s**t'

01/06/2024

On a city that can’t stop breaking my heart

https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/why-does-liverpool-lose-its-brightest

01/06/2024

I am walking through Liverpool in search of one of the most significant poets of the modern age. The sky is grey, and intermittent showers force me to dive into the occasional pub. Tucked in my bag is a copy of the complete poems of Constantine P. Cavafy, translated by Rae Dalven. Cavafy is one of the most influential poets of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and, for a time, he called Liverpool home.

The Post is a new quality newspaper for Liverpool and Merseyside, delivered via email. We send well-written, in-depth stories about politics, culture, business, history and local people straight to your inbox every week. Click to read The Post, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscr...

26/05/2024

Liverpool is awash with private hire cabs from out-of-town.

Here’s why.
https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/covert-operations-untraceable-cabs

25/05/2024

She's shopping in Aldi with her hair in rollers, sashaying down the aisle leaving a waft of eau de Fake Bake in her wake. Look at her – falling over the pavement outside the bar while her friend attempts to have a wee in the gutter and light a fag at the same time.

‘The real Lilys didn't really 'do' age; instead they did rage, wit, and defiance’

19/05/2024

In his most in-depth interview since his fall from grace, the former mayor tells The Post: 'I can look you in the eye and swear on the holy Bible. I’ve never done anything to hurt this city'

https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/living-in-exile-joe-anderson-thinks

18/05/2024

A story of pain, loss, and resilience: In the 1970s, le***an mothers often lost their children. One Liverpool nan, Judi Morris, wants an apology for the son she lost and the injustice she faced.

Le***an mothers in the 1970’s lost their children. One Liverpool nan wants an apology

12/05/2024

'What makes it worse is they don’t answer any correspondence. They’ve gone into oblivion'

https://www.livpost.co.uk/p/in-2020-a-fundraiser-aimed-to-save