Words Dept.: entry

North West Tonight reported today that Manchester city council is ready to launch legal action against the government when it formally axes the proposed supercasino in the city. It claims to have also “learned” that the city “definitely” won’t be getting the development. Which is all a bit baffling, since the Manchester Evening News reported the first part last November and the Telegraph, among others, carried the rest this morning.

Still, there’s not a lot you can do when a story doesn’t have a beginning, middle or end. And this one doesn’t. Ever since the decision was made to award Manchester the gig, reporters have been scratching round for an angle with nothing more than a vague feeling that Downing Street has gone off the whole idea.

For all the talk of who has exclusively said what to which journalist in recent weeks, nobody in the Cabinet has actually stood up to say what the hell is going on. The government’s approach all along has been to brief certain national newspapers, leaving the grapevine to do the rest.

And so it continues. And it’s all a bit grubby and undignified. Then again, you might argue the same description applies to a 54,000 sq ft gambling den.

Meanwhile, despite the bravado, I’d be absolutely amazed if the council opts to pursue the legal route. Instead, a deal is already being carefully negotiated which will allow both the council and the government to suffer minimal political damage. This helps explain the uncharacteristic reluctance of the council to say anything following meetings with Gordon Brown last week.

And what will happen to the site in Beswick where the supercasino was supposed to go? Don’t bet against a Mecca bingo hall and a massive Tesco…