PM denies ‘ war on North’ as wages deal comes under fire
BORIS JOHNSON was yesterday forced to deny he is “at war” with the North as accusations mounted that the Government only put in place better support for those living under coronavirus restrictions once London was hit.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday unveiled measures that mean businesses have access to backdated grants in Tier 2 areas, with more help to pay wages and help for the self employed.
But leaders in West Yorkshire said it did not go far enough and others claimed it would be too late for many in areas such as Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale who have been under measures since the start of August.
Speaking from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said he was not “in a war with local leaders” over coronavirus restrictions and support. Mr Johnson said: “The issue is really one of basic fairness between various parts of the country that are having to experience regional restrictions. That’s what we were trying to achieve in the last 10 days.”
And he added: “What we’re trying to do now is address a national issue which is that obviously since the virus started to come up again, there’s been much more concern, particularly among the business community, about people’s ability to protect jobs and livelihoods because of the effects of the virus.”
But Northern leaders said they had been expressing these concerns for months.
A statement from the leaders of West Yorkshire councils said: “Many businesses in Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees have been operating under these restrictions for some months, so while they will welcome the ability to apply for business grants retrospectively, it is disappointing that only now this need has been recognised by the Government.”
Anna Round, senior research fellow at think tank IPPR North, said: “For many in the North this will be too late.
“While the Chancellor is right to allow businesses to apply retrospectively for support, some firms in places like West Yorkshire – which has been under Tier 2 restrictions for months – will have ceased trading before today’s announcement, making people unemployed and left to navigate the UK benefit system, which is one of the least generous in the world.”