Shameless star Maxine Peake attacks Tory 'untruths' over leftwing library

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/may/11/maxine-peake-shameless-tory-untruths-leftwing-archive

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Its books include early trade union documents from the 1820s, texts from the Spanish civil war and works on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

For good measure, the Working Class Movement Library in Salford also houses archives that include the writings of Jim Allen, the Manchester-born screenwriter who worked on Coronation Street and who collaborated on films with director Ken Loach. The building is near the pub where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are supposed to have met in the 1840s to discuss their ideas.

The library, in short, is a temple of socialist history – and in accusing the local Labour party of wasting thousands in supporting it, Salford Tories might have expected they would raise the hackles of leftwing activists. What they got was more dramatic, however: they found themselves on the receiving end of a fusillade of abuse from one of the country's most distinguished actresses, BBC star Maxine Peake.

Peake, who has appeared in Dinnerladies, Silk and Shameless, has accused the Conservatives of deliberately misleading the public by claiming, in a local election leaflet, that the library has been receiving tens of thousands of pounds of public money even though people "cannot walk in and read any material".

Funding for the charity-run library should be halted, states the Tory leaflet. However, Peake is adamant that these claims are untrue.

"I couldn't believe what I was reading," she said. "I expect such tactics from the Tories, but I was still shocked that someone hadn't done their homework or checked the facts before the leaflet went out. Anyone can walk in and read any of the books or view other material in the library.

"To state untruths about a charity that is largely run by volunteers is a purely cynical political move, in my eyes. It is a low blow. I just hope no one read it and believed it, because it could put off potential visitors."

Peake is a regular visitor to the library and was interviewed there for The Culture Show last year during the Manchester International Festival, at her insistence. She has supported many of the events there, including talks, discussions, film showings and the forthcoming book launch of John Harding's new biography of Salford-born Shelagh Delaney, the writer of A Taste of Honey.

"The library has one of the best archives in the world and it should not only be preserved, but nurtured as part of the cultural history of our country," Peake told the Observer.

"For anyone to criticise such an amazing establishment is nothing short of disgraceful. It is just another attack on the poorer people in our society from the government. You can read things you can't get access to anywhere else there. Maybe there are things the Tories hope we don't see? The staff and volunteers are fantastic and you are made to feel welcome. To say you can't walk in and read material is an outright lie."

But Robin Garrido, a councillor and leader of Salford Conservative party, said he stood by the leaflet: "It is not a proper accessible library, you need to make an appointment to visit. Also you can't borrow books like you can at an ordinary library."

Salford city council is made up of 58 Labour councillors and eight Tories, who hold seats mainly in the more affluent areas on the outskirts of the city.

The library, a stone's throw from the BBC's new headquarters in Salford, was founded by Ruth and Eddie Frow from their own personal collections in the 1950s and holds more than 250 years' worth of artefacts that help tell the story of Britain's working classes from the beginning of industrialisation to the present day.

The library's exhibition space was opened by Tony Benn in 2009 and hosts an array of information displays, open to the public.

For further information, visit wcml.org.uk