Western Morning News (Saturday)
The things they say
■ “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. People are fed up of being treated in this way, the North is fed up of being pushed around. We aren’t going to be pushed around any more”
- Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham accuses the Government of treating the North with contempt over proposed coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
■ “Time and again it has been shown that it is better to act earlier than to act too late. I am not willing to put Londoners’ lives at risk and we must do all we can to minimise economic damage. I know these further restrictions will require Londoners to make yet more sacrifices, but the disastrous failure of the test, trace and isolate system leaves us with little choice”
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan
responds to news London will go into Tier 2 lockdown.
■ “For too long this conversation has been delayed. Child food poverty in the UK is not a result of
Covid-19. We must act with urgency to stabilise the households of our vulnerable children”
- footballer Marcus Rashford petitions Government to
end child poverty.
■ “The perfect storm for them (trust chief executives) is the combination of tired staff, the fact that they have lost between 10-30% of capacity because they have got to keep Covid and non-Covid patients separate, and they are then trying to do three things at once”
- Chris Hopson, who heads NHS Providers, says there is
a “consistent picture” of tired staff in the NHS who are once again dealing with
more Covid-19 patients.
■ “Under any circumstance, our fishermen should not be sacrificed for Brexit. If these conditions are not met, it’s possible we won’t have a deal. If the right terms can’t be found at the end of these discussions, we’re ready for a no-deal for our future relations” - French President Emmanuel Macron warns Boris Johnson he will not allow French fishermen to be sacrificed for the sake of a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the EU.