By Ben Kerrigan-
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham, has made his opposition to severe restrictions in Manchester clear, in the process accusing the government of treating Manchester as a sacrificial lamb.
The outspoken Mayor said regional leaders had communicated their “clear and unanimous” view to the government that it was wrong to put some of poorest parts in England into a “punishing lockdown” without adequate support that was “not certain to control the virus”.
Mr Burnham, who held a press conference this evening said: “We can’t simply be treated as second-class citizens. We understand the government’s view and wait for further engagement.”
He added: “If the government are convinced this approach will work…. they have to back that properly, fully financially, so it will have a chance of working.”
Mr Burnham made reference to comments by members of the government scientific body that the planned restrictions will not go far enough to work, claiming that it makes no sense to impose restrictions that will affect the hospitality sector severely, but still not work.
The former Labour Health Secretary has already threatened legal action if Manchester is placed on the the highest tier 3 like Liverpool. The Mayor of Greater Manchester said the measures proposed for the city went “way beyond” the closure of pubs.
He said: “Today we communicated our clear and unanimous view to the Government.
“It is wrong to place some of the poorest parts of England in a punishing lockdown without proper support for the people and businesses affected.
“It will cause harm in a different way to people’s mental health and is not certain to control the virus.
“Last night the deputy chief medical officer told the leaders that to bring the infection rates down any regional lockdown would require widespread closures way beyond pubs to stand any real chance of working.”
Local MPs and council chiefs have lined up to criticise the plan and the way it has been handled by Number 10.
Sacrificial Lamb
In accusing ministers of treating the region as a “sacrificial lamb”, mr. Burnham told a press briefing in the city: “I’ve said it may be that we need to look at a national circuit-break as preferable to this unfunded, risky regional lockdown strategy.
“We have to protect the health of the nation but let’s do it as one nation, and not make the North of England the sacrificial lamb for an ill-thought-through Downing Street policy which doesn’t make sense in the real world.”
The Mayor said people are “fed up of being treated in this way, the North is fed up of being pushed around.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam told Greater Manchester leaders in a call on Wednesday that a nationwide lockdown was the “only certain thing to work”, Mr Burnham added.
Greater Manchester is expected to move into the ‘very high’ alert level in which all hospitality venues except restaurants would be closed and indoor household mixing would be banned, but talks between Manchester’s leaders and the government have produced no mutual result.
The government still has the power to impose the restrictions on Manchester if it so chooses, but is carefully considering the strong objections raised.