Tighter measures have been enforced.
Boris Johnson has announced that Greater Manchester will join Lancashire and Merseyside in the Tier 3 category, following 10 days of unsuccessful negotiations with local leaders.
The Prime Minister laid out the new restrictions in a press conference this afternoon, following a conference held by Andy Burnham which revealed that the government had declined their funding proposal which would support residents in the region affected financially by the new restrictions.
Boris Johnson said: “Unfortunately agreement wasn’t reached and I do regret this,”
“We would have a better chance of defeating this virus if we worked together.”
The new restrictions will force hospitality establishments that are not serving substantial meals to close their businesses for the duration of the lockdown, with other businesses such as casinos and soft play areas also required to close. Residents are also being asked not to leave the area, and they will not be able to mix with other households.
The rules will come into place on Friday just after midnight, with the region receiving £22m of support as part of a “comprehensive package of support”. Leaders were previously offered a £60m package to accept the new restrictions, according to reports, however, Burnham confirmed they could not accept less than £65m to support those left without income.
Just for some context, the money the Treasury recently clawed back from GM in business cash grants from March/April lockdown stands at £88million.
So Government TOOK BACK £88m in Covid business support but now won’t give less than this to support GM businesses now 🤷🏻♀️— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) October 20, 2020
Johnson added: “Nobody wants to be putting people in Greater Manchester, or anywhere, through this experience. And frankly, Andy Burnham is right in what he says about the length of endurance Greater Manchester has shown.
“I have simply got to look at the data and alas the number of deaths and we have to act.
“The funds are there, they are massive. What we couldn’t do was do a deal with Greater Manchester that would have been out of kilter with the deals we’ve already reached with Merseyside and Greater Lancashire.”
The collapse of talks with local leaders in Greater Manchester is a sign of Government failure.
The Conservatives have been treating local communities, particularly in the Midlands, North West and North East, and their leaders with contempt. 1/2
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 20, 2020
Andy Burnham warned just this afternoon that Greater Manchester would face a “winter of hardship” without the £65m support they requested from the government, adding that the region “would be certain to increase levels of poverty, homelessness and hardship”. Greater Manchester leaders also expressed their willingness to continue working with the government however, they had “walked away” from negotiations earlier today.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information comes.