Andy Burnham Fight's Back Against Tier 3 For Manchester

Greater Manchester is fighting back against its proposed Tier 3 lockdown.

Andy Burnham says local leaders were "unanimously opposed" to the introduction of possible Tier 3 restrictions, which involve pub closures and a ban on the mixing of households indoors, private gardens and most outdoor venues.

Andy became the Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017 and featured on previous front cover of Trailblazer, you can read his interview here.

The Manchester Mayor described measures under a very high alert level as "flawed and unfair". He added that they would amount to a "punishing lockdown" without "proper support" for the people and businesses affected.

Ministers "are asking us to gamble our residents' jobs, homes and businesses and a large chunk of our economy on a strategy that their own experts tell them might not work," he told a press briefing.

"Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region and Lancashire are being set up as the canaries in the coal mine for an experimental regional lockdown strategy as an attempt to prevent the expense of what is truly needed."

He added: "This is an important moment. Greater Manchester will stand firm. We are fighting back for fairness and for the health of our people in the broadest sense."

Earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock informed the House of Commons that discussions with local leaders in other parts of the country "in Greater Manchester, in Lancashire, and elsewhere" were ongoing - including "what financial support is needed".

However, he told MPs he wanted to see "rapid progress" on the issue, and said "we have put in place unprecedented support [for] those affected".

He added: "Coronavirus is deadly and it is now spreading exponentially in the UK."