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A minister launched a thinly veiled attack on the mayor of Greater Manchester when he explained why the government will not enter into talks with individual regions about coronavirus restrictions.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News that such discussions, held before the government opted for COVID-19 lockdown earlier this month – had delayed areas entering staggered restrictions.
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“I’m afraid that in itself was one of the reasons that led to maybe not getting over it [the virus] as quickly as possible, “he told Kay Burley.
The comments will be seen as an implicit criticism of the Labor mayor of Greater Manchester. Andy Burnham.
He was involved in a fierce fight with ministers last month over the area entering Level 3 coronavirus restrictions.
When asked if he was referring to Burnham, the Transport Secretary replied: “I don’t blame anyone, but it is clear that in Liverpool, where Level 3 arrived quite quickly, we have seen cases decrease. It has been a true story of success.
“We have seen in other places, where the levels did not come as fast, for several different reasons, that it was not really that successful.
“That’s a fact, I’m afraid. We don’t want to be in that position again.”
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Burnham: the government did not listen to the advice of SAGE
When asked that Burnham would argue that it was defending the interests of its residents, Shapps told Burley: “The most important thing if you are defending your region is saving lives.”
Burnham said Shapps’ comments were “not true”, adding: “If he goes back to those negotiations with the government, they left us waiting for a whole weekend – me and the 10 leaders of Greater Manchester – while the government left. .
“They need to clarify their data.
“We would not have been in that position if the government had listened to SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) in September and presented the national circuit breaker much earlier.
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October: Greater Manchester put on level 3 lockdown
“I don’t know how the government thinks it is useful to do this.
“I also don’t know why they think imposing standards across the country is an appropriate response just because they had a fight with me.
“It doesn’t sound like a very adult government to me.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock also referenced the dispute during a committee session with MPs, telling them: “The reason we are doing it differently is that in most cases, when we negotiate with the Most of the areas in the previous tiered agreement, we had a high-quality discussion that led to better results – one example is Liverpool, where the case rate has dropped more than two-thirds in the last three weeks.
“Unfortunately, that was not the case in all local areas.”
When asked if he was referring specifically to Greater Manchester, Hancock replied: “That would be one example, but not the only one.
“Unfortunately, in the case of Greater Manchester, the cases continued to increase as we tried to implement the measures that were necessary.”
The transportation secretary said the new data, which will be released “in the next day,” will help decide which areas fall into which levels.
“It will be based on the number of cases, for example, the number of cases in those over 60, where it is much more likely to [the virus] it could be more fatal, and things like the rate at which the coronavirus is increasing or decreasing in a particular area and a couple of other measures in that regard, “Shapps said.
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“We will analyze all the data for the country and then we can assign the levels to the country as a whole.”
Boris johnson confirmed on monday that England’s national shutdown will end on December 2, to be replaced by the previous tiered system.
However, the prime minister said the restrictions will be tightened in a number of ways. The new rules are described at all three levels here.
