Nick Buckley Explained

Nicholas Brendan Buckley (born April 1968) is a British charity worker and political candidate. He spent 15 years working with the homeless.

In 2011, he founded The Mancunian Way, a charity which fired him in 2020. However, following a public outcry, the board of trustees resigned and Buckley was reinstated.

Early life and career

Buckley grew up in the Longsight area of Manchester. He held numerous positions at Manchester City Council, starting as a youth intervention officer[1] until 2011, when his role as a Community Safety Co-ordinator, which he held during the 2011 Manchester riots, was terminated by the City Council due to budget cuts. Instead of taking an offered alternative job he took his severance and used it to found a charity named Mancunian Way,[2] which worked to reduce antisocial behaviour[3] via prevention and intervention.[4]

In 2018, Buckley stood as an independent candidate in the local council elections for the Deansgate ward of Manchester.[5] Buckley received 164 votes in total, and did not gain office. The election was won by three Labour candidates.[6]

Buckley was recognized at the 2018 NW Charity Awards with the Small Charity Big Impact Award and at the 2019 SME News Finance Awards 2019, winning Greater Manchester Homeless Project of the Year.[7] While Buckley was CEO, the charity he founded was recognised as "Community Project of the Year award" in 2015.[8]

In 2019, Buckley, who spent 15 years working directly with the homeless, explained on BBC Radio that individuals handing out food to the homeless have unintended consequences, including preventing them from getting the necessary support and help to get off the street.[9] [10] Buckley criticized Lucy Powell, saying her "words would have a negative effect on teenagers from deprived backgrounds."[11] One of Buckley's projects, Change4Good, "placed 28 homeless or vulnerable individuals into employment" that year.[12] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to young people and to the community in Greater Manchester.[13] [14]

Politics

In March 2021, Buckley was announced as the Reform UK candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester.[15] In the ensuing contest that May, he won 2.69% of votes cast and came in fifth place.[16] [17]

In May 2023, Buckley announced his intention to stand as an independent candidate for the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election,[18] in which he won 7.6% of the vote, placing third. [19]

Controversy

Black Lives Matter article

In 2020, Buckley was the centre of a controversy linked to an article he authored and posted on Medium and shared with Mancunian Way staff and on the professional networking site LinkedIn. The article was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, and was accused of upholding inequalities by those calling for his dismissal via an online petition.[20] The article was later taken down.

The trustees of Mancunian Way dismissed Buckley on 19 June 2020,[21] announcing that the charity had severed their relationship with Nick Buckley's company BNB services Ltd.[22] Buckley was reinstated[21] after reaching a pre-lawsuit agreement with the existing trustees, which saw them step down en masse to be replaced by a new set of trustees.[23]

Wagamama Pride campaign comments

In September 2022, Buckley was met with criticism for comments he made on Twitter denouncing British-Asian fast food chain Wagamama's partnership with the youth trans-rights charity Mermaids during Pride 2022,[21] further alleging that money raised was funding a "charity that promotes child abuse".[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Caring, the Mancunian Way: Axed community worker uses pay-out to set up charity for troubled teenagers . 3 July 2020 . . 12 December 2011.
  2. Web site: Mike Munn . Working with Mancunian Way . News . ARCON Housing Association . 3 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703125700/https://www.arcon.org.uk/news/working-with-mancunian-way-464 . 3 July 2020 . 16 November 2017.
  3. Web site: ON THEIR OWN TURF: STREET-BASED YOUTH ENGAGEMENT . Newground . 3 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703132619/https://newground.co.uk/blog/on-their-own-turf-street-based-youth-engagement/ . 3 July 2020 . 10 October 2018.
  4. News: Phoebe Walters . "We try to find young people in the most need" Stay Safe MCR on helping the youth of Salford . 3 July 2020 . Salford Now . 6 December 2019 .
  5. News: Jennifer Williams . Frustrated charity worker running for council vows to tackle 'out of control' homelessness crisis . 3 July 2020 . . 16 January 2018.
  6. Web site: Election results - Local elections 2018 | Manchester City Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20180924224815/https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/315222/local_elections_2018/category/1392/local_elections. 24 September 2018.
  7. News: Nigel Barlow . Charity leader Nick Buckley awarded MBE for services to the community . 3 July 2020 . About Manchester . 30 December 2019.
  8. News: Luke Andrews . How homeless people are building Manchester's future . 3 July 2020 . . . 11 April 2018 .
  9. News: Stephen Lewis . "Don't give food to homeless people," says Manchester charity boss . 3 July 2020 . I Love MCR . 29 December 2019 .
  10. Web site: Feeding the Problem . BBC Radio 4 . . 3 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703130105/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnhc . 3 July 2020 . 28 December 2019.
  11. News: 'We have suffered heart-breaking losses twice', Yousef Makki's sister calls for re-trial following self-defence verdict . 3 July 2020 . . 15 July 2019.
  12. News: Harriet Whitehead . Charity leaders recognised in New Year Honours List 2020 . 3 July 2020 . Civil Society Media . 2 January 2020 .
  13. News: Steve Robson . Charlotte Dobson . Andrew Bardsley . Oldham boy, 13, is youngest person in country on New Year Honours list after raising thousands for charity . 3 July 2020 . Manchester Evening News . 27 December 2019.
  14. Web site: Well deserved MBE for Nick Buckley . Celebrating Inspiring Women . Inspire Awards . 3 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703131052/https://inspirewomenawards.org.uk/well-deserved-mbe-for-nick-buckley/ . 3 July 2020 . 28 December 2019.
  15. reformparty_uk . 1370375514305757185 . We are proud to announce that charity founder @NickBuckleyMBE is standing to be Mayor of Greater Manchester for Reform UK! Nick made headlines last year for being "cancelled" by the woke brigade, but then reinstated. He now wants to put the 'great' back into Greater Manchester..
  16. Web site: Mayor of Greater Manchester election results . 2023-06-13 . Greater Manchester Elects . en.
  17. News: Greater Manchester Mayor Election 2021 Candidates and Results . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-06-13.
  18. Web site: Buckley . Nick . 15 May 2023 . Nick Buckley 4 Mayor on Twitter: "It is official. I will be standing for Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2024 as an Independent candidate. It's time for some democracy - which means people power!" . 2023-06-13 . Twitter . en.
  19. Web site: 1 July 2024 . Greater Manchester Mayor election results . BBC News . en.
  20. Web site: 2020-07-14. 25 times cancel culture was real. live. https://archive.today/20200716024533/https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/14/25-times-cancel-culture-was-real/. 16 July 2020. Spiked-online. 18 September 2020.
  21. Web site: Baska . Maggie . Anti-trans troll moans over Wagamama's joyful Pride campaign. It backfires, badly . . 25 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240725164435/https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/09/25/wagamama-mermaids-trans-pride-campaign-nick-buckley/ . 25 July 2024 . en . 25 September 2022.
  22. News: David Scullion . Charity boss fired after criticising Black Lives Matter . 3 July 2020 . The Critic . 2 July 2020.
  23. News: Fired charity boss restored .

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