You cant compare “London” with “The Midlands”. That’s comparing a huge region (two regions really) with a city.
Even if you try to compare, say, Greater Birmingham with Greater London, there are still as many differences as similarities.
One thing Birmingham and London have in common is a high population density and large BAME populations, which would seem to be two very good reasons to be extra cautious and NOT to rush to end lockdown.
I think this will all be resolved very slowly in small increments, and it’s better to just wait for solid government plans rather than grasping at every news article. You can find a news story to say just about anything ATM. Thousands of words being written in contradiction of each other.