Pm press conference at 5pm.

[DonLewis]

Will it be a circuit breaker announcement?

This is just a press conference, they did say last week they’d be doing more of them.

Any big announcement is always on a Monday night at 7 or 8pm, and it wouldn’t be a press conference but Boris sitting in an armchair like he's doing Tales of the Unexpected

@assholesandelbows

What about the people losing their jobs and livelihoods and the health impacts that will have? Do they not matter because they’re not caused by COVID?

We do not try to prevent every death from any other cause and we cannot do it for COVID. Hospital capacity should be the key metric and the NHS themselves in Manchester have been clear that plenty of beds are available.

@assholesandelbows

Andy Burnham should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. All this dithering for 10 days will have cost people their lives, we need to get this virus under control. Then again Boris should have shown some gumption and ordered this lockdown ages ago.

Another shameful debacle in this whole fucking shitshow, I despair I really do.

No, he should be held up as a hero as somebody who finally had the balls to stand up to this nonsense (even though he knew he would get idiots accusing him of costing lives etc). Let us be 100 per cent clear here: further restrictions WILL COST LIVES, for all manner of reasons. It is those calling for them that should be ashamed of themselves. It's about time this was called out for what it is.

@TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair

I think they have to be very careful about vaccine announcements. It must be something that they will need to get absolutely right.

You’d think that would apply to everything in the last seven months, yet here we are ...

If they lock us all down , I think there would be a riot. I don't think they will but who knows anything any more?

It will be about a price freeze on bacon and eggs.

Or something as equally useful.

@the80sweregreat

If they lock us all down , I think there would be a riot. I don't think they will but who knows anything any more?

We won't riot we are British we will seethe loudly on the Internet

@assholesandelbows

Andy Burnham should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. All this dithering for 10 days will have cost people their lives, we need to get this virus under control. Then again Boris should have shown some gumption and ordered this lockdown ages ago.

Another shameful debacle in this whole fucking shitshow, I despair I really do.

This isnt just Andy Burnham and its really starting to piss me off how many people are being hoodwinked over this

This is a Manchester Tory MP.
William Wragg MP @william_wragg
The sense of failure is overwhelming. I shall avoid political comment until I have heard @MattHancock’s statement in @HouseofCommons this evening. Leadership is required from everybody. Trust is placed in us all and that is the privilege of public office.

He's not happy at all. There was also pressure from Tory backbenchers on Johnson on how he was dealing with this.

Retweeted by Sunday Times Journalist David Collins

Laura Kuenssberg @ bbclaurak
5. Govt source says ‘Other local leaders in GM were more reasonable and constructive but Burnham was too proud to make a deal.’
6. GM source says there was 'unanimity' on their side, and govt was 'trying to grind us' into accepting a deal that was too low

David Collins @davidcollinsST
Was just asked on BBC News channel about Andy Burnham being too proud to take a deal.

There are 10 borough leaders in GM saying the same as Burnham, along with many senior Tory MPs. The idea this is about one man being too "proud" is Whitehall dark arts at play.

Manchester's negotiation breakdown is symbolic of something far deeper than Labour v Tory.

This is about the north/south divide; the over centralisation of the pandemic response and the state generally; and the perceived ignorance of Whitehall

Bolton Council is Tory. A Tory MP quit his junior minister position in protest at the government handling over this. Graham Brady has been in the media saying repeatedly he is not happy about the proposals. William Wragg was furious about not even being invited to discussions on the matter.

Everyone involved is saying there is a collective Manchester position that is unhappy at Westminster.

And yet its still cast as 'Andy Burnham' s pride'.

No. No. And again no.

This is about a city thats been in restructions already for months, feels shat on and ignored and now is being told to just suck it up.

There is widespread anger about this and the government isnt listening.

It is supposed to have committed itself to helping the north and reducing North south inequality and a Westminster that shits on the north.

This optics on this are terrible and twisted.

I get more anger every time i see this nonsense.

I feel the anger and I'm a soft southerner!
He did say on Sunday he can't stop the government but at least they have given it a try.

There's also the point that people really shouldn't be so credulous as to imagine putting GM in Tier 3 is going to get the virus under control.

RE: Andy Burnham.
Why doesn't he tell the press that Boris has agreed to give GM £80m.
That way, Boris might just choke on his coffee.

RedToothbrush, that encapsulates it all for me.
Thanks for putting it all here.

@Ecosse

Nope- it will be an announcement about Manchester.

This. ^

I am in Tier 3, under some kind of "local lockdown" since July and the cases are still rising, my local hospital is starting to be overwhelmed. It is very scary So no I think Tier 3 is going to be far too little too late, same for Manchester too thanks to all the dithering.

Bbc reporting that G Manchester asked for a package of £75 million to match Liverpool and Lancashire. They then dropped than to £65 million.

And the government said no.

From BBC website:

The highest tier of Covid restrictions is expected to be imposed on Greater Manchester after talks over financial support broke down.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said local leaders had asked for £65m but would now get less than £60m.

The "very high" alert level - or tier three - means pubs and bars not serving food must close, and there will be extra restrictions on household mixing.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to hold a press conference at 17:00 BST.

That press conference will be followed by a statement in the House of Commons from Health Secretary Matt Hancock at 19:00.

@RedToothBrush

Bbc reporting that G Manchester asked for a package of £75 million to match Liverpool and Lancashire. They then dropped than to £65 million.

And the government said no.

But it's all Andy Burnham's fault tho...

All this dithering for 10 days will have cost people their lives, we need to get this virus under control

Dithering? This is people's livelihoods we're talking about, Covid isn’t the only issue out there you know, homelessness and poverty are looking very real around here.

Try and look past the end of your fucking nose. Such a narrow-minded comment. Andy Burnham has fought tooth and nail for the people of GM, he should be proud of himself.

@assholesandelbows

I am in Tier 3, under some kind of "local lockdown" since July and the cases are still rising, my local hospital is starting to be overwhelmed. It is very scary So no I think Tier 3 is going to be far too little too late, same for Manchester too thanks to all the dithering.

I think you mean the combined politicians of Greater Manchester not meekly doing as they’re told, don’t you? The only dithering is in Westminster.

Boris will announce he's thrown Manchester out of the UK.

Of course it is crapple. Of course it is.

Bastards.

Can't wait for Johnson's next visit to Manchester. I expect it wont be for a while.

@Iamacatslave

Boris will announce he's thrown Manchester out of the UK.

I suspect that would be popular!!!

@Iamacatslave

Boris will announce he's thrown Manchester out of the UK.

If only...

Anyone else heard the reports that Robert Jenrick had managed to give a town in his constituency £25m? And yet he can’t find £5m for GM. No wonder people are angry. And that’s before we get onto the amount Whitehall is spending on consultancy.

I hope it's to announce the Republic of Greater Manchester. I only live down the road so should be able to sneak in before they close the border.