Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has said England eased its lockdown “too soon” for regions such as the north-west and north-east.
The north-west of England currently has more coronavirus hospital patients than any other region, and Burnham accused ministers of taking a national decision while being “overly influenced by the position in London, and the south-east”.
He called for local leaders to be given regional breakdowns of data on the infection rate in their area, and for regional mayors to take part in Cobra discussions.
“I think it’s right that the mayor of London is on Cobra, but I am concerned that there hasn’t been equal representation for the perspective from the English regions when it came to making national decisions about the release from lockdown,” he said.
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