Andy Burnham calls for Commons vote to 'break impasse' on Covid rules

Political leaders in Westminster have been urged to “break the impasse” over coronavirus lockdowns by holding a Commons vote this week after Michael Gove intensified the government’s standoff with northern leaders.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, implored Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and other leaders to hold a parliamentary vote to decide the level of financial aid for areas under the strictest tier 3 restrictions.

Burnham held a one-to-one call with Sir Ed Lister, the prime minister’s chief strategic adviser, on Sunday afternoon but there was no sign of a breakthrough. The meeting was described as “constructive”, though it is understood there were no significant concessions from the government.

The Treasury is offering Greater Manchester a financial package worth tens of millions of pounds, in line with those agreed by leaders in Lancashire and Merseyside where bars, pubs and other venues have closed under tier 3 restrictions.

The region’s MPs and council leaders – including 10 Conservatives – have expressed serious concerns about the financial support on offer, with local officials calculating a £62m gap between the government proposal and the required level of support for businesses and residents.

More significant is the refusal by ministers to increase the furlough scheme to pay 80% of workers’ wages, as it did in the spring, extend help to self-employed workers and introduce an improved business compensation package.

In a letter to party leaders on Sunday, Burnham said an urgent Commons vote may be the only way out of the deadlock. He wrote: “Establishing clear national entitlements of the kind we had during the first lockdown will create a sense of fairness, which in turn would help build public support for, and compliance with, any new restrictions.

“We believe that sense of fairness will only be achieved by providing similar terms to the financial package afforded to the whole country back in March.”

Earlier Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, escalated the government’s war of words with Burnham by accusing him of risking lives by opting for “press conferences and posturing” rather than agreeing to new coronavirus rules.

While he did not mention the Labour mayor by name, Gove was explicit in blaming “the political leadership in Greater Manchester” for an impasse over whether the region should enter tier 3, saying people would die as a result of the delays.

“I want them to put aside for a moment some of the political positioning that they’ve indulged in, and I want them to work with us in order to ensure that we save lives and protect the NHS,” Gove told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show. He added: “Instead of press conferences and posturing, what we need is action to save people’s lives.”

Burnham hit back at Gove’s accusations, saying Greater Manchester was the first English region to accept local restrictions, nearly three months ago, and he urged the government to “step back from the war of words” and negotiate a nationwide package of financial help for lockdown areas.

Attempts to portray the issue in party political terms were also disputed by one of Gove’s most senior backbench colleagues. Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, said opinion in Manchester was “pretty united” against a move to tier 3.

Tier one – medium

• The “rule of six” applies, meaning socialising in groups larger than six people is prohibited whether indoors or outdoors.

• Tradespeople can continue to go into a household for work and are not counted as being part of the six-person limit.

• Businesses and venues can continue to operate but pubs and restaurants must ensure customers only consume food and drink while seated, and close between 10pm and 5am.

• Takeaway food can continue to be sold after 10pm if ordered by phone or online.

• Schools and universities remain open.

• Places of worship remain open but people must not mingle in a group of more than six.

• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of people who can attend (15 and 30 respectively).

• Exercise classes and organised sport can continue to take place outdoors, and – if the rule of six is followed – indoors.

Tier two – high

• People are prohibited from socialising with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting.

• Tradespeople can continue to go into a household for work.

• The rule of six continues to apply for socialising outdoors, for instance in a garden or public space like a park or beach.

• Businesses and venues can continue to operate but pubs and restaurants must ensure customers only consume food and drink while seated, and close between 10pm and 5am.

• Takeaway food can continue to be sold after 10pm if ordered online or by phone.

• Schools and universities remain open.

• Places of worship remain open but people must not mingle in a group of more than six.

• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of people who can attend (15 and 30 respectively).

• Exercise classes and organised sport can continue to take place outdoors but will only be permitted indoors if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with those they do not live with (or share a support bubble with), or for youth or disability sport.

• Travel is permitted to amenities that are open, for work or to access education, but people are advised to reduce the number of journeys where possible.

Tier three – very high

• People are prohibited from socialising with anybody they do not live with, or have not formed a support bubble with, in any indoor setting, private garden or at most outdoor hospitality venues and ticketed events.

• Tradespeople can continue to go into a household for work.

• The rule of six continues to apply to outdoor public spaces, such as parks, beaches, public gardens or sports venues.

• Pubs and bars are only permitted to remain open to operate as restaurants, in which case alcohol can only be served as part of a substantial meal.

• Schools and universities remain open.

• Places of worship remain open but household mixing is not permitted.

• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of people attending (15 and 30 respectively) but wedding receptions are not allowed.

• The rules for exercise classes and organised sport are the same as in tier 2. They can continue to take place outdoors but will only be permitted indoors if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with (or share a support bubble with), or for youth or disability sport. However, in Merseyside, gyms were ordered to close when it entered tier 3.

• Travelling outside a very high alert level area or entering a very high alert level area should be avoided other than for things such as work, education or youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if travelling through as part of a longer journey.

• Residents of a tier 3 area should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK, while people who live in a tier 1 or tier 2 area should avoid staying overnight in a very high alert level area.

“Certainly the members of parliament of both parties, the council leaders of both parties and the mayor of Greater Manchester have been resisting a move to tier 3, on the basis that we simply haven’t been given the evidence that it would be effective,” Brady told BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme.

He said: “We can see no reason for taking that significant economic hit, especially if it isn’t met with full compensation for the economic hit when there is no evidence being advanced as to why it would work.”

Related: How coronavirus 'diktats' from Downing Street tore Britain apart

The rare political unity extends only so far, however. Five of Greater Manchester’s nine Conservative MPs wrote to Burnham on Sunday to say they were “deeply concerned” by his support for a national “circuit breaker” lockdown, which they described as “extreme and poorly thought out”.

The Conservative MP Chris Clarkson wrote: “We will work cross-party to ensure the best possible package is reached, but this will rely on you also putting aside party political considerations to best serve the public interest.”

Earlier, some of those same Conservative MPs condemned their own party colleagues for a joint letter by a group of 20 Tories representing seats in areas including Norfolk, Kent and Wiltshire, asking northern leaders to agree to the new restrictions.