Greater Manchester Lockdown: The Row Between Andy Burnham And Boris Johnson Explained
A row between local leaders in Greater Manchester and central government has been rumbling for days, amid an impasse over whether to place the region into a tier 3 coronavirus lockdown. The two sides have been holding talks to try and bridge the divide.
What does the government want?
Boris Johnson wants to impose a tier 3 lockdown on Greater Manchester to combat a recent rise in coronavirus cases.
The prime minister warned on Friday the infection rate had “doubled in the last nine days” and urgent action was needed.
Under the “very high” alert level, the strictest restrictions in the three tier system, people from different households will not be allowed to mix, pubs and bars not serving food will be forced to close and residents will be told not to travel outside the area.
The government so far resisted introducing a so-called “circuit breaker” national lockdown England that would impose strict measures across the entire country.
Instead it wants to target measures where cases are rising locally. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC on Monday morning a national lockdown would have an unfair and “very significant” economic and health impact.
“The argument for a national circuit-breaker is not one that I, personally, find, at all persuasive,” he said.
“This is to apply on a blanket level – the same approach in Nottingham, the city which my constituency is next to, where the number of cases today is well over 700, to Somerset or Herefordshire, where the number of cases per 100,000 is below 40.”
What does Andy Burnham want?
The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, with the support of local Tory MPs, has resisted the government’s plan to impose tier 3.
Burnham has argued any strict lockdown must be matched with an increase in financial support for people and businesses.
He has demanded the Treasury bring back a level of support that existed during the first national lockdown in March for anywhere under the “very high” alert...
