Nicholas Brendan Buckley MBE (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

Buckley grew up in the Longsight area of Manchester.[1]

Career

Buckley's career with the Manchester City Council started as a youth intervention officer.[1] In 2011, Buckley's job as a Community Safety Co-ordinator, which he held during the 2011 Manchester riots, was terminated by the City Council due to budget cuts. He was offered an alternative position; instead of taking it, he took his severance and used it to found a charity named Mancunian Way,[1][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][7][15]

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.[16] The article was later taken down.

The trustees of Mancunian Way dismissed Buckley on 19 June 2020, announcing that the charity had severed their relationship with Nick Buckley's company BNB services Ltd.[17]

Buckley was reinstated 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.[18]

In March 2021, Buckley was announced as the Reform UK candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester.[19] In the ensuing contest that May, he won 2.69% of votes cast and came in fifth place.[20][21]

In May 2023, Buckley announced his intention to stand as an independent candidate for the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Caring, the Mancunian Way: Axed community worker uses pay-out to set up charity for troubled teenagers". Manchester Evening News. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Mike Munn (16 November 2017). "Working with Mancunian Way". News. ARCON Housing Association. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "ON THEIR OWN TURF: STREET-BASED YOUTH ENGAGEMENT". Newground. 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Phoebe Walters (6 December 2019). ""We try to find young people in the most need" Stay Safe MCR on helping the youth of Salford". Salford Now. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Jennifer Williams (16 January 2018). "Frustrated charity worker running for council vows to tackle 'out of control' homelessness crisis". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Election results - Local elections 2018 | Manchester City Council". Archived from the original on 24 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 Nigel Barlow (30 December 2019). "Charity leader Nick Buckley awarded MBE for services to the community". About Manchester. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Luke Andrews (11 April 2018). "How homeless people are building Manchester's future". MSN. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Stephen Lewis (29 December 2019). ""Don't give food to homeless people," says Manchester charity boss". I Love MCR. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Feeding the Problem". BBC Radio 4. BBC. 28 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "'We have suffered heart-breaking losses twice', Yousef Makki's sister calls for re-trial following self-defence verdict". ITV News. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  12. ↑ Harriet Whitehead (2 January 2020). "Charity leaders recognised in New Year Honours List 2020". Civil Society Media. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N16.
  14. ↑ Steve Robson; Charlotte Dobson; Andrew Bardsley (27 December 2019). "Oldham boy, 13, is youngest person in country on New Year Honours list after raising thousands for charity". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "Well deserved MBE for Nick Buckley". Celebrating Inspiring Women. Inspire Awards. 28 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. ↑ "25 times cancel culture was real". Spiked-online. 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  17. ↑ David Scullion (2 July 2020). "Charity boss fired after criticising Black Lives Matter". The Critic. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Fired charity boss restored".
  19. ↑ @reformparty_uk (12 March 2021). "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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ "Mayor of Greater Manchester election results". Greater Manchester Elects. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Greater Manchester Mayor Election 2021 Candidates and Results". BBC News. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  22. ↑ 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!"". Twitter. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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