LONDON (UK) – Mayors of major cities in northern England on Saturday sought more generous economic support from the government for workers and businesses facing local lockdown, saying the current proposals of Westminster would wreak economic hardship on their citizens.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak on Friday offered to provide extra help for businesses and people who are forced to stop work because of local lockdowns.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, made it clear that the support package was unacceptable ahead of the expected introduction of new curbs in large swathes of northern England.
He demanded an increase to the proposed two-thirds of wages for furloughed employees while the government needed to recognise a broader array of businesses that would be impacted.
To accept the package would be “to surrender our residents to hardship in the run up to Christmas, and our businesses to potential failure or collapse,” Burnham said.
He said that he along with other mayors would write to MPs seeking a vote on the package so that it gets rejected and new measures are put in place.