Measures mean people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Leicester cannot meet indoors
7.23am BST
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said the Government was right to take action in the north of England after it became clear that the picture on Covid-19 cases had changed.
He told Sky News:
On the substance, we do accept that these steps are needed. They’re modest steps. We’re asking people not to have visitors at home, if they go to the pub to stick within their own household – steps that hopefully will prevent much more severe restrictions if we take firm action at this time.
And the reason for it is the picture changed in Greater Manchester over the last week. We’re watching the data very, very closely, like the Government is.
Some Conservatives in Greater Manchester not happy at all with govt’s decision to impose new lockdown restrictions on the entire region.
One Tory MP in GM texts: “This is ridiculous. It’s Oldham and Rochdale. To place this on the whole of GM is a nonsense.”
7.23am BST
There has been confusion about how widely the new restrictions applied in parts of northern England and the handling of the announcement was criticised by both Labour and Conservative MPs.
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said announcing the lockdown measures “late at night on Twitter” was “a new low for the government’s communications during this crisis”.
Continue reading…Measures mean people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Leicester cannot meet indoorsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 7.23am BSTThe Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said the Government was right to take action in the north of England after it became clear that the picture on Covid-19 cases had changed.He told Sky News: On the substance, we do accept that these steps are needed. They’re modest steps. We’re asking people not to have visitors at home, if they go to the pub to stick within their own household – steps that hopefully will prevent much more severe restrictions if we take firm action at this time.And the reason for it is the picture changed in Greater Manchester over the last week. We’re watching the data very, very closely, like the Government is.Some Conservatives in Greater Manchester not happy at all with govt’s decision to impose new lockdown restrictions on the entire region. One Tory MP in GM texts: “This is ridiculous. It’s Oldham and Rochdale. To place this on the whole of GM is a nonsense.” 7.23am BSTThere has been confusion about how widely the new restrictions applied in parts of northern England and the handling of the announcement was criticised by both Labour and Conservative MPs.The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said announcing the lockdown measures “late at night on Twitter” was “a new low for the government’s communications during this crisis”. Continue reading…