the creaky wheels of democracy turn

A home owner in Chorlton is left in the lurch and massively out of pocket after a builder decides it is not profitable to finish the work on her house

Actress Maxine Peake reading Chartist Poetry in Salford as part of a lecture on 19th century working class literature

The Raclyffe School Oldham , where non teaching staff are taking form groups to encourage better relationships between staff and pupils . Pictured are the school matron and a lab technician .

Labour candidate Lucy Powell and Glenys Kinnock visit the Manchester Art Gallery to look at a painting of Emily Pankhurst

Love it or hate it (there's only really one sensible option there) the x factor got up and running again in Manchester with over 6000 hopefuls auditioning at Old Trafford football ground. I went along to cover it for the MEN . Random sighting of the day was Bez - there to support his girlfriend who was auditioning .

Pictures for channel 4 of a fab mother and daughter in Morecambe for an upcoming show 'How The Other Half Lives'