Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HOPE OF DEAL
Chancellor ‘will offer millions’ to Manchester Burnham hits out at ‘playing politics’ claim
A DEAL to break the deadlock over the Government’s plans to impose tough Tier 3 restrictions on Greater Manchester was edging closer last night.
Andy Burnham will hold more talks with No10 today after discussions yesterday with senior officials were called “constructive” by his team.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to have told the Prime Minister that he is willing to reopen his cheque book to “get a deal over the line” with the Labour metro mayor.
He is thought to be prepared to offer Greater Manchester leaders tens of millions of pounds to soften the financial blow of going into the highest level of lockdown.
But it falls short of the region’s demand for the new jobs furlough scheme, which offers 66% of wages, to be as generous as the 80% paid out earlier this year.
Regional leaders urged caution as no offer has yet been put on the table by No10 to break the deadlock.
One local politician warned: “We’re not there yet”.
The Liverpool city region was given an extra £30million in cash to support local businesses hit by tough Tier 3 measures at the weekend, taking the total to £44m. With almost double the population – 2.8 million – Greater Manchester could expect substantially more.
An o t h e r 1 6 , 9 8 2 coronavirus cases were re p or t ed across the UK yesterday and 67 deaths.
Mr B u r n - ham called on Westminster’s political leaders to help “break the impasse” by holding a Commons vote on support for the hardest-hit areas.
The former Health Secretary wrote to Boris Johnson, Labour leader Keir Starmer and other party leaders warning that “most places” will end up in Tier 3 at some point.
“We recognise the uncertainty that this is causing and write to ask for your help in breaking the impasse and finding a fair resolution,” he said.
“This could be done by Parliament calling an urgent debate and vote this week to establish a cross-party consensus on what constitutes a fair financial framework for people in a re a s u n d e r Ti e r 3 restrictions.”
Af t e r c o n f u s i o n over whether talks with No10 would continue, Mr Burnham spoke with one of the PM’S top advisers yesterday. Mr Burnham’s spokesman said: “The mayor has had a constructive call with Sir Edward Lister.” Downing Street said further conversations would take place today. Cabinet Office minister Michael
LOOMING MEASURES Shoppers in Manchester yesterday
Gove heightened tensions when he accused Mr Burnham on Sky News of political “posturing”.
Senior Tor y backb ench er Sir Graham Brady, MP for Altrincham and Sale West in Greater Manchester, told the BBC that the region’s Labour and Tory MPS were “pretty united” in opposing Tier 3.
Mr Burnham accused the Government of tr ying to “level down” Northern communities and denied he was “playing politics” with lives as he had signed up to measures as far back as July. He accused the PM of having engaged in an “exaggeration” of the
Revellers in the city on Saturday as 10pm curfew approaches severity of Covid-19 in the region.
“It ’s a s e r i o u s situation but I don’t think it was the situation that was described by the Prime Minister on Friday evening,” he told the BBC.
He warned he would still consider a legal challenge over financial support for the worst off. He said: “I would do anything to protect low-paid workers who I think are very close to the edge.”
But Mr Burnham insi st ed hi s resistance was not all about money, adding that further lockdown would do “real damage” to people’s mental health.
“It’s not a case of ‘give us our money’, we’re just doing this for a big cheque for Greater Manchester,” he said.
“It’s about people and their health, lives and businesses.”
Earlier, he blamed Mr Sunak for the deadlock, saying: “I think the problem now is, to a large degree, the Chancellor.
I think he’s made wrong judgments throughout this.” Business leaders also called for greater Treasury support for firms forced to close in Tier 3, as well as those in Tier 2 which face “dramatically” hampered finances.
The British Chambers of Commerce told the PM any new restrictions must come with “truly commensurate” financial support or risk “catastrophic economic consequences”. Mr Gove said there was no p o ssi bi lity of a sh or t national “circuit-breaker” lockdown.
Lancashire joined the Liverpool region in Tier 3 on Saturday, with pubs closed unless they can serve meals and household mixing banned indoors.
Several hundred people attended a rally in Liverpool centre on Saturday, billed as a “mental health awareness rally”, at which most wore no masks.
Wales will have a two-week circuitbreaker imposed next week, according to a leaked letter from the Confederation of Passenger Transport.
A Government scientific adviser warned Christmas will be “tough” this year and unlikely to be a traditional celebration if infection rates continue.
Prof Jeremy Farrar said the UK faces a “very, very difficult” period over the next three to six months.