Government ministers have cast potential doubts over Brits’ summer holiday plans following quarantine measures imposed this weekend for those travelling to the UK from Spain.
Foregin Secretary Dominic Raab appeared on Sky News to speak to Sophy Ridge on Sunday morning.
He addressed and defended the government’s decision to impose two-week quarantine measures on those travelling to the UK from Spain – which took effect on Sunday – by stating that “we took the decision as swiftly as we could” and that “we can’t make apologies for doing so”.
He continued: “We must be able to take swift, decisive action, particularly in relation to localised, or internationally in relation to Spain or a particular country, where we see we must take action. Otherwise, we risk reinfection into the UK, potentially a second wave here and then another lockdown.”
“So yes, I understand it is disruptive for those going through this who are in Spain or have been considering going, but we must though be able to take swift, decisive action to protect the UK, because we’ve made such progress in getting the virus down, and prevent the virus retaking hold in the UK.”
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The 14-day quarantine affects Britons coming back from mainland Spain, the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa), and the Balearic Islands (Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera).
'Why was the decision taken with so little notice to introduce a quarantine for Britons returning from Spain?'
In relation to countries being removed from the government’s ‘safe travel’ list in the future and whether ministers would ever consider placing similar travel restrictions or quarantine measures onto any other countries, Mr Raab revealed that no guarantee could be given to that at this point.
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He stated that: “As we’ve found with Spain, we can’t give a guarantee”, and added that there was “an element of uncertainty this summer if people go abroad”.
Mr Raab said the government could not risk giving any “vague advice” to holidaymakers.
He continued: “There is a cutoff with changes in rules and advice we give, so I appreciate that that’s difficult and it can be disruptive, but it would be far worse to either muddy the waters or to hold back and delay from taking the measures when we need to take them.”
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“The reason this was taken at reasonably short notice was the spike in Spain that we’ve responded to… so it was the real-time response.”
Late on Saturday the government still said Spain was safe for travel. Shouldn't it have warned people about a possible quarantine?
Health Minister Helen Whately has also spoken to a number of media outlets this morning regarding the government’s plans to impose quarantine measures onto travel into the UK from other countries in the future.
Speaking to Sky News – particularly in relation to the widespread speculation that France or Germany could be next to join Spain in being removed from the ‘safe travel’ list, she stated that: “We have to keep the situation under review and I think that is what the public would expect us to do.”
“If we see rates going up in a country where at the moment there is no need to quarantine, we would have to take action because we cannot take the risk of coronavirus being spread again across the UK.”
She also said that individuals that have booked, or are currently booking holidays need to understand that “we are in a global pandemic” and the government was right to take “rapid action” where necessary.
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"We had to take rapid action."@Helen_Whately says the govt has "done the "right thing" in adding Spain to the quarantine list after a "rapid increase" in #coronavirus cases.#KayBurley
Following up on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she added that: “What we said throughout the time when we’ve put in place the policy on the travel corridors, the air bridges, is that we would need to keep those under review, that we would need to monitor the rates in other countries.”
“That is exactly what we’ve done in Spain, so we are enacting the policy that we committed to doing.”
“The rate was going up very rapidly in Spain and we had to take very rapid, decisive action.”
“If we hadn’t taken that decisive action, I imagine you would be asking me ‘Why are there delays, why haven’t we taken robust action?'”
“We have taken decisive action.”
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If you arrive in the UK from Spain including the Canary and Balearic Islands, on or after 26 July 2020 you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
— Department for Transport (@transportgovuk) July 25, 2020
Public Health England (PHE) is confirmed to be closely and continuously monitoring travel situations globally, and travellers are advised to continue checking this updated advice regularly.
All current and latest travel advice can be found via The Foreign & Commonwealth Office website here.
For further information and guidance amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, do refer to official sources via gov.uk/coronavirus.
#StaySafeSaveLives
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A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
The Manc -
27th July 2020 
