The Mancunian Way: A crumbling tower

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Here is today's Mancunian Way:

Hello,

It’s been a very sad week hasn’t it. This time last Monday we were all gripped by the news of a new Prime Minister. But just days later we were mourning the death of our longest reigning monarch.

That news will continue to dominate the headlines for some time and we will, of course, be discussing the Queen and the new King this week. But we will mainly be concentrating on the huge news stories that are still rumbling on - from the energy crisis to our transport infrastructure.

Avanti West Coast should be stripped of its contract after breaking ‘its deed and its word', according to a group of Greater Manchester MPs. They had some harsh words for company bosses during a Commons debate last week, as Paul Britton reports.

Eight of our MPs spoke out after the company reduced its service between Manchester and London to one an hour. Among them was Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer, who called Avanti a 'dreadful company' that 'should not continue with this franchise’.

He said the company should be ‘sacked’ because it is 'not only not running services to Manchester - it has cut those services by two thirds - but, when it eventually gets passengers on to its trains, drops them off at unpersoned stations in an unsafe position'.

Stockport's Labour MP Navendu Mishra blamed the situation on Avanti's management and criticised the company's business 'model' - which he said depends on drivers agreeing to work their rest days for extra pay.

While Afzal Khan, Labour's Gorton MP, said ticket