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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of treating the region like a “slaughtered lamb” and promised: “They will no longer pressure us.”
Greater Manchester leaders have refused to be placed in the highest category of the new three-tier system of government for COVID-19 restrictions, amid a bitter political dispute.
A call between Greater Manchester leaders and Downing Street officials failed to reach an agreement on new restrictions on Thursday.
And, after those inconclusive talks, Burnham revealed: “Today we communicate our clear and unanimous vision to the government.
“It is wrong to place some of the poorer parts of England in lockdown without adequate support for the people and businesses affected.”
In a frank attack on the government’s new localized lockdown system, Burnham accused ministers of testing the three-tier approach in parts of northern England.
“Greater Manchester, the Liverpool city region and Lancashire are shaping up as the canaries in the coal mine for an experimental regional lockdown strategy as an attempt to avoid spending what is really needed,” he said.
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Urging the government to take a different tack and consider a return to strict restrictions across England, the Mayor of Greater Manchester said: “I have said that we may need to view a national circuit breaker as preferable to this unfunded, risky regional blockade strategy.
“We have to protect the health of the nation, but let’s do it as a nation, and let’s not make the north of England the lamb slaughtered by a badly thought-out Downing Street policy that doesn’t make sense in the real world.”
Mr Burnham claimed that England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, had told Greater Manchester leaders that “the only sure thing to do is a national lockdown.”
“But the government told us this morning that it is not willing to do so because of the damage it will cause to the national economy.
“And yet that is what they want to impose on the Northwest.”
He added that the government “was treating us with contempt”, adding: “People are fed up with being treated this way, the North is fed up with being pushed.”
“They are not going to pressure us anymore.”
Under Level 3 restrictions, people are prohibited from socializing with other households both indoors and in private gardens, while bars and pubs are closed unless they can only operate as restaurants.
