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Merseybeat
Monday to mark Beatles anniversary
AUGUST bank holiday in
Liverpool will have a distinct Merseybeat feel to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of The Beatles. As part of the Mathew Street Music
Festival, which takes place on Sunday 26 and Monday, 27 August 2012, there
will be a nod to Liverpool’s most famous sons as the second day has
been renamed Merseybeat Monday, celebrating all things Beatles and
Beatles-influenced. 2 stages will be dedicated to the Fab Four as
that week marks 50 years since Ringo joined John, Paul and George. A
selection of tracks from every Beatles album will be performed.
Over the 2 days, 5 stages across the city centre will fantastic live
host music to attract all ages. The line up will be announced in the
next fortnight, but the stage themes are:-
Sunday, 26 August 2012:-
Chill out stage
70s stage which will include a tribute to Erics
80s stage
90s stage
Made in Liverpool stage featuring ten of the best young, up and
coming bands.
Monday, 27 August 2012:-
Merseybeat stage
The Cavern – yesterday and today
Early Beatles albums
Later Beatles albums
Guitar heroes of the 60s and 70s
Once again, businesses are being asked to support the festival which
can no longer be solely funded by the city council due to budget
pressures. Local businesses benefit from the hundreds of thousands
of visitors who come to the city over the August weekend, and a
range of opportunities are available for them ranging from
sponsoring one of the acts performing right through to making
smaller contributions.
Letters have been sent out to more than 300 organisations in the
city centre including bars, restaurants and hotels asking for
support and to help share the considerable cost of putting on the
Mathew Street Music Festival.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:- “The Mathew Street
Music Festival has been part of the city’s calendar of events for 20
years, and over time has evolved from an indoor event to a
high-profile outdoor music celebration.
As a result, this is one of the most costly festivals we stage. Over
the next two years we’re facing further cuts of more than
£50million, and tough decisions have to be made.
Last year we addressed the issue by asking for sponsors to support
the event and introducing wristbands, and although this did bring in
£100,000 worth of valuable contributions, we need to do better this
year.
We’re determined to make the 2012 festival one to remember as we pay
homage to 50 years of one of Liverpool’s greatest exports. We
realise it’s a tough economic climate for everyone, but the whole
city reaps the benefits from this event and we would be delighted if
businesses could get behind us and make a contribution – big or
small.”
Any business who would like to support the festival or find out more
information should call:- 0151 600 2942 or
email them as soon as
possible...
The wristband scheme; which gives festival-goers access to special
offers and discounts from retailers across the city - will return
this year. Details of the initiative will be released in the next
couple of weeks.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Mathew Street Music
Festival and the weekend offers 80 hours of
FREE live outdoor music.
The 2011 event brought in crowds of 320,000 to the city centre and
contributed around £20 million to the local economy.
For the latest news about the festival you can now visit the
official website:-
mathewstreetfestival.com. |
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Government’s
local pay plans could cost the North West economy £1.1 billion a
year
THERE is no evidence that
the pay of teachers, nurses and dinner ladies is preventing local
firms from hiring staff, and government plans to introduce regional
pay rates for public servants could cost the North West economy £1.1
billion a year, according to a report published by the TUC.
Concerned that the government has yet to undertake any serious
research into the economic impact of its proposals for the
introduction of local or regional public sector pay, the TUC
recently commissioned the New Economics Foundation (nef) to analyse
ministers’ proposals. The nef researchers conducted an in-depth
analysis of the arguments put forward by the government and found
little evidence to support its position.
Nef also looked into the economic impact and the number of jobs that
might be created; or lost; if local pay was introduced for
schools, hospitals and other public sector employers.
To examine the likely economic impact of the government’s local pay
proposals, nef set out to explore a number of scenarios. One
approach assumed that that the government is wrong and that there is
no ‘crowding out’ of the private sector by public sector pay.
Nef concluded that with this ‘worst’ case scenario where the pay of
millions of public servants who live beyond London and the South
East is brought down to private sector levels, as many as 11,000 net
jobs could be lost across the North West, and the cost to local
economies would be a huge £1.1 billion a year.
Even on the ‘best’ case scenario for ministers, where nef modelling
assumed that the government is right and the pay of public servants
is preventing private sector firms from recruiting because they are
unable to match public sector salaries, the introduction of local
pay rates for public servants would only see the creation of a mere
1,700 net jobs across the whole of the region, the report found.
Yet this approach would still come at a price and would mean local
economies taking a hit to the tune of £292 million a year as civil
servants, refuse collectors and other local public sector workers
across the North West find their spending power further diminished,
says the TUC.
Commenting on the report North West TUC Regional Secretary Alan
Manning said:- “Quite apart from the huge hit that public
sector workers would have to take in their pockets if pay in parts
of the UK is held down to ‘allow’ the private sector to catch up,
this report shows that the move would also prove hugely damaging to
local economies.
Despite the concerns being voiced by MPs in the parts of the UK most
likely to be affected by the introduction of local pay rates, the
government has so far refused to rule out this move that would hit
public sector workers and their families; who are already feeling
the financial pinch as they suffer the effects of a lengthy pay
freeze; very hard.
We hope that our report; combined with the findings of the three
pay review bodies due to report back to the government this week;
will prove to be the final nail in the coffin for these discredited
proposals.”
Helen Kersley, Head of Valuing What Matters at nef said:- “The
research finds no economic case for regional pay variations. Our
research finds the government’s proposals are based on flawed
assumptions that are not borne out in reality.
Cutting the wages of public sector workers is a high stakes gamble
from which there will be no winners. Even in the very best case
where the private sector creates more jobs, the economy would be
substantially worse off overall.
Proponents of this policy must look again at the potential
implications to avoid creating further harm in a fragile economic
period.”
Since the Chancellor announced in last year’s Autumn Statement that
the government was to explore whether a system of local pay for
public sector workers might help businesses in the private sector
take on more staff, a growing number of coalition MPs in ‘low-pay’
areas of the UK; such as North West; have begun to voice concerns
about what such a move might mean for their local economies and
communities.
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