Local leaders in Greater Manchester have questioned why Rishi Sunak has changed his stance on further job support for tier 2 areas after parts of the north of England spent months over the summer with tighter restrictions.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said he would be “looking closely” at the announcement following the collapse of talks with the government on financial support for the North earlier this week.
“Greater Manchester has been in ‘high’ alert for THREE months but our hospitality businesses haven’t had any emergency support,” Mr Burnham wrote on Twitter.
“We asked for this to be taken into account in Tier 3 negotiations. The government refused.”
Lisa Nandy, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary and MP for Wigan, added that the change in approach from the chancellor was “incredible”.
“I don’t for a moment begrudge help for London business but this is the same chancellor who refused to help Greater Manchester as we lived with these restrictions for months and said it was ‘unfair’ to other areas when we asked for help,” Ms Nandy said.
