JAMES GRUNDY MP: Saddened by GM mayor’s approach

On one side of the debate was Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who supported a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the measures, with every single borough within Greater Manchester keeping the same restrictions in place regardless of whether the local infection rates were high or low.

On the other side of the debate were myself and my Greater Manchester Conservative colleagues, who pushed for a more sophisticated approach, with measures tailored to each area according to the evidence available on infection rates.

We jointly wrote a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to set out our concerns with the approach the mayor was taking.

I am pleased to say that Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health, has come down firmly on the side of reason, backing the call I and my colleagues put forward for an evidence led approach, and rejecting a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

From later this week, a review will take place on the Covid-19 measures, with each local area’s measures being lifted or strengthened based on the data on local infection rates, as opposed to the measures applying to entirety of Greater Manchester.

When the new Covid-19 measures were first introduced, the infection rates in Oldham, one of the worst affected areas, were approximately 10 times greater than those in the Wigan borough.

The infection rates in Wigan were amongst the lowest in the region, and below the national average.

It made no sense to have the same measures in place across both boroughs given they were at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the number of Covid-19 cases merely because they were both in Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham said that it was ‘impossible’ for any single borough of Greater Manchester to be removed from the ‘lockdown’ as they were all ‘interconnected‘.

This was categorically false, as could be seen in neighbouring Lancashire and West Yorkshire, where only parts of these counties had new restrictions put in place, and in Leicestershire, where restrictions were lifted in suburban Oadby and Wigston, but remained in force in the Leicester City council area.

When we challenged Andy Burnham on these facts, he chose not to address the points we had made in our letter, but instead accused us of ‘politicising’ the issue.

The simple truth was that he was unable to refute a single point we had made, and instead took refuge in political name calling, which was very disappointing.

I and my colleagues approached this issue in good faith out of a genuine disagreement on the approach being taken to deal with Covid-19 across Greater Manchester.

We felt that it was not sensible or productive to apply the same restrictions across a range of very different areas with different infection rates.

We won the argument because the facts were on our side, but I feel saddened that Andy Burnham fought this argument not on the basis of evidence, but as a political bunfight, the last thing we needed at a time like this.

Of course, the decision by Matt Hancock does not mean that the Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted automatically this week.

What we argued for was an evidence based approach. I am confident there is a high chance of the measures being lifted this week in Wigan borough, but that premise rests on infection rates remaining low locally.

It is more important than ever that we all obey the rules to ensure that we can return to normality as quickly as possible.

I would ask everyone, as I have since the new measures were introduced, to follow the rules as set out. Please stay vigilan, and stay safe.