Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled his first Budget for 2021 yesterday.
For those somewhat unfamiliar with the term and why its bi-annual unveiling often carries such significance for the country, the Budget – which is formally known as the Financial Statement – is a statement made to the House of Commons by the Chancellor twice a year.
Yesterday’s statement outlined the current state of the economy in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and gave the government’s proposals for changes to taxation in the upcoming period.
The Chancellor also made forecasts for the economy by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
As is to be expected after many businesses have only been permitted to trade for a few months, or have remained closed entirely, since Britain was first forced into lockdown last March, and with an ‘irreversible’ roadmap to reopen the economy now published, millions had been speculating as to whether financial support will remain available – and how the country will get back on its feet.
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So, there was a lot to unpack after yesterday’s announcement.
An important moment is upon us. A moment of challenge and of change.
If you’re looking for a round-up of everything Mr Sunak said, then we’ve covered that in full here, but now that the dust has settled the morning after, how do Greater Manchester’s leaders, MPs, and prominent figures feel about the measures unveiled during the announcement?
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What positives have they picked out, what criticisms have been highlighted, and how do they feel about the upcoming year ahead?
Here’s everything we know so far.
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Andy Burnham
Mayor of Greater Manchester
Speaking in his weekly online press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Burnham – Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester – provided his take on the Budget announcement by first saying that he “would describe it as a packet of Polos – in some ways refreshing, but also full of holes”.
He then welcomed the announcement on support for self-employed people and the extension of furlough, among others, but then went on to acknowledge that many people have “not had their plight recognised” in the Budget and remain excluded from public support.
He said: “In Greater Manchester terms, we estimate that 100,000 people are still in the category of excluded from public support.”
“That’s a lot of people struggling.”
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🗣️ “I think there were some refreshing parts of this budget, but the holes were those big commitments to the strategic investment that the North of England needs.” says Mayor Andy Burnham
— Mayor of Greater Manchester (@MayorofGM) March 3, 2021
You can find Mr Burnham’s full comments on the 2021 Budget announcement via the official @MayorofGM Twitter thread from yesterday’s conference here.
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Sacha Lord
Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Adviser, and co-founder of Warehouse Project and Parklife
Following several early reports emerging ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget unveiling yesterday, and in light of the “landmark victory for hospitality” where it was announced that the government intends to drop the ‘substantial meal’ clause from its roadmap, thanks directly to his legal challenge, Sacha Lord earlier admitted on Twitter that the announcement “could be the biggest announcement for hospitality and events in our lifetime”.
He also said it would be “make or break for many who have managed to make it this far”.
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In response to the announcement, Mr Lord initially said that yesterday’s Budget is “very welcome and supportive for hospitality across the UK” and added that operators in the region’s hospitality sector would be “waking up with renewed hope”.
But then raised a concerns surrounding additional help that will be needed for freelance workers going forward and also questioned why “we still don’t have a government-backed COVID indemnity insurance policy for events”, saying that this is “critical” and that he will “continue to drive this through”.
Overall, I'm pleased today. Recovery will be slow and steady so the furlough extension is a welcome move and will save thousands of jobs. Business rate and hospitality VAT measures will also be a lifeline too many. Operators will be waking up tomorrow with renewed hope.
.@andyburnhamgm and I have continually called for support for the 3 million freelancers who have been excluded from any financial aid – many of these work within the night time economy. Today, over 600,000 have been helped. A good start, but clearly much much more to be done.
Concerned we still don't have a Government-backed COVID indemnity insurance policy for events. It's critical and hundreds of events, including weddings are relying on this. I know Westminster and the Treasury are considering it, so I will continue to drive this through.
You can further comment from Mr Lord on the 2021 Budget announcement via Twitter here.
You can also find a brief run down of the announcements in the Budget related to the local Night Time Economy sector via the Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Office Twitter thread here.
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Lou Cordwell
Chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GMLEP)
Also speaking live at Mayor Andy Burnham’s virtual press conference yesterday afternoon, Lou Cordwell – Chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GMLEP) – offered her stance on the Budget announcement, starting by saying: “It’s good to see support for those sectors that have suffered the most [and] the extension of the furlough scheme is incredibly welcome”, and that she was “delighted” with the news that Liverpool City Region – which also includes Port Salford – had been successful in its Freeport bid.
“There is a strong sense of collaboration across our city-regions, and it’s a great example of pan-North West collaboration.” she added.
She also addressed the issue of Corporation Tax, and said: “The big area that we hoped to see more on is around the importance of research and innovation in the economy, and particularly in green, which is going to play an important part in our economy in the coming years.”
🗣️ “It's incredibly important that we as a place are investable and we have projects and initiatives that can be invested in.”@Loucordwell chair of @GMLEP talks about economic recovery at today’s press conference
— Mayor of Greater Manchester (@MayorofGM) March 3, 2021
You can further comment from Ms Cordwell on the 2021 Budget announcement via the official @GMLEP Twitter thread here.
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Chris Fletcher
Director of Policy and Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC)
First taking to Twitter to give his initial response to the Chancellor’s Budget announcement yesterday afternoon, Christ Fletcher – Director of Policy and Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) – said it was “time [for me] to hit the red book for the details” and gave his initial impression as “decent at short term offsetting COVID impact, but feels a bit lacklustre longer term”.
So as the Chancellor sits down after #Budget2021 speech – I make it 52 minutes – time to hit the red book for the details. Initial impression, decent at short term offsetting Covid impact but feels a bit lacklustre longer term. More to come….
He then later stated in full: “There was an awful lot riding on the content of today’s Budget, especially for those businesses still struggling with the impact of COVID, such as the hospitality and tourism sectors [and] the first part of the Chancellor’s speech would have given them and others some comfort with the expected extension of the furlough scheme to June then a tapering off until September, supporting this are new rounds of grant monies and business rate reductions.
“The phasing of VAT will also bring some relief [and] alongside new measures to help businesses recruit and re-open in the short term, this all seems positive, although there are still a huge number of business owners excluded from government support”.
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“As we approach the first anniversary of lockdown, this is far from acceptable.” he added.
You can full comment from Mr Fletcher on behalf of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) regarding the 2021 Budget announcement here.
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Greater Manchester MPs
A round-up of social media reaction to the Budget 2021 announcement by a number of MPs across Greater Manchester’s constituancies.
Lucy Powell – Labour MP for Manchester Central
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Excellent response by @Keir_Starmer exposing that, for all its glitz, this Budget completely fails to fix the broken foundations of the economy: inequality, insecurity and public services like social care exposed during COVID. No real agenda for green recovery or levelling up
While the minimum, emergency action for hospitality & others is there, gaping holes in #Budget remain. Nothing for supply chain & events/weddings, key sectors hard hit like automotive, aerospace, steel, & no long term investment to transition to green like competitor countries
Barbara Keeley – Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South
Its good that @RishiSunak has finally listened to campaigners and MPs so that newly self-employed can access the later stages of the grant but why so late and what about the rest of the 3 million @ExcludedUK
— Baroness Keeley of Worsley (also on BlueSky) (@KeeleyMP) March 3, 2021
Hugely disappointing Budget for unpaid #carers with no mention of what they have contributed through caring through the #COVID19 pandemic. Also, no sign of a plan or reform of funding for social care. https://t.co/BUP6jFjakP
— Baroness Keeley of Worsley (also on BlueSky) (@KeeleyMP) March 3, 2021
Rebecca Long-Bailey – Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton
#Budget – is this a joke? Facing the existential threat of climate change and we see so little. eg. A paltry 12bn Investment Bank, shiny retail savings products and a distant report into carbon offsetting in the City of London? A Green Industrial Revolution this is not.
– No permanent extension of the £20 Universal Credit and legacy benefits uplift – Greater Manchester must wait until 2022-3 for investment in intra-city transport – 2m+ excluded from parallel furlough scheme for self-employed#Budget2021
A Budget that papers over the cracks. We need to learn the lessons of this pandemic, and build a strong green economy for the long term, not go back to the insecurity and inequality of the past.https://t.co/KdGfJeijQW
Buried in the small print of the budget is the news that the Communities Secretary and many of his Tory friends are the main beneficiaries of the Towns Fund, ahead of areas with far higher deprivation. They are absolutely shameless. https://t.co/0by1uGSR06
Christian Wakeford – Conservative MP for Bury South
This budget will ensure we can recover from the Coronavirus pandemic by delivering for jobs, apprentices, business, home buyers and will help boost world leading investment programs. In driving forward these spending plans we really can Build Back Better for a stronger Bury.
— Christian Wakeford MP (@Christian4BuryS) March 3, 2021
– No pay rise for NHS staff (claps were good enough in Sunak's view) – £8bn tax raid on the lowest paid with the £12.5k freeze – "Green recovery" focus as Govt plan to open a coal mine – Economic foundations still in tatters and inequality rife
— Yasmin Qureshi MP (@YasminQureshiMP) March 3, 2021
Tony Lloyd – Labour MP for Rochdale
📰 Read: I have written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, urging him to ensure that this Budget is a break from the past, repairing the economy whilst fixing our society and preparing us for our next challenge, Climate Change. 👇https://t.co/KDc2Uvp7rN
Have I missed the bit where the Chancellor announced a pay rise for health and social care workers? I suppose last year's clapping will have to pay this year's bills.
A year into a pandemic the Chancellor's Budget didn't include a pay rise for NHS and social care staff who have got us through this crisis, didn't mention social care and didn't even mention sick pay.
Jim McMahon – Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton
Pretty bold of the chancellor to repeat the 'do whatever it takes', given the year that has gone with millions left unsupported, including key industries #BudgetSpeech2021
Jonathon Reynolds – Labour MP for Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley, Longdendale & Dukinfield
The Budget doesn’t get us on the road to recovery and it doesn’t ensure there is no return to the insecurities of the past#Budget21pic.twitter.com/Q3AdzCM8xN
No mention of children, their mental health or wellbeing, nothing for schools facing extra covid costs, nothing for hardworking education staff. This isn't the ambitious recovery plan we needed from the chancellor. Children always an afterthought for this gvt #Budget2021
For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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10 major restaurants and bars that have closed in Manchester already this year
Daisy Jackson
We are barely a quarter of the way through the year, and already it feels like Manchester is having a brutal year of restaurant and bar closures.
Already this year we’ve bid farewell to restaurants that should, in any other economic climate, stood the test of time.
We’re talking long-standing neighbourhood favourites, restaurants that have caught the eye of the prestigious Michelin Guide, local institutions, and award-winning bars.
But, with the hospitality industry battling ever-increasing costs and a stark lack of support from the Government, we might be seeing a lot more of this to come, industry insiders have warned.
We’ve rounded up 10 restaurant and bar closures that have shocked Manchester already this year.
Climat
Climat has laid their finances bare in their closing statementMichelin-recommended rooftop restaurant Climat has closed its doors with immediate effect
A real wake-up call for everyone about the dire circumstances facing hospitality landed last month, when Climat closed its doors for good. Despite a Michelin Guide recommendation, rave reviews across the board, and an enviable location with views across Manchester, the finances for the restaurant just didn’t stack up. And they were brutally honest about those finances in their closing statement. Climat’s founder listed an annual energy bill of £112k a year, a 33% increase in staff wages, and a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year among the reasons for its closure.
One of the Northern Quarter’s longest-standing restaurants announced it would be closing its doors for good back in February. In a brutally honest statement TNQ said that it had become ‘no longer viable’ to run the restaurant, listing costs like an £8k a month energy bill. This independent business said it was focused on paying the staff ‘every penny they’re owed’ and finding them all new jobs in the industry.
KAJI
Glitzy Manchester restaurant KAJI has quietly shut downKAJI
KAJI opened on Bridge Street back in 2022, a big glitzy, futuristic restaurant space with a modern Japanese menu, which quickly drew in all sorts of glamorous customers (like when Ilkay Gundogan’s wife – who had famously described Manchester’s restaurant scene as ‘horrible’ – actually liked the food here).
But despite a rebrand from MUSU to KAJI and pulling in some impressive chefs, it appears that this glamorous spot has closed for good last month, with repossession notices now in the windows.
The restaurant remained silent on its closure, but it’s no longer possible to book a table here.
Restaurant Orme
Restaurant Orme in Urmston has announced its shock closure. Credit: Instagram, @littlemcrhouse
This is a bit of a weird one because it hasn’t actually closed yet – but Restaurant Orme in Urmston has notified followers that with ‘great sadness’ they are intending to sell the business.
In a statement, the Michelin-recommended restaurant acknowledged the ‘significant economic pressures’ facing the restaurant industry, writing: “We find an increasing disparity between perceived value and the true cost of operations, rendering long-term sustainability unfeasible.”
But they also detailed that a break in their lease has allowed them to ‘thoughtfully consider’ their circumstances and make the ‘right choice for our growing families’.
You’ve still got time to visit, but I wouldn’t delay.
Topkapi
Just this month, we’ve had to bid goodbye to a bit of a local institution.
Topkapi Palace has closed its doors on Deansgate after almost five decades in the city, making it the longest-running Turkish restaurant in Manchester.
This one triggered a wave of discussion, with one local operator warning: “If we keep letting places like this go, we lose more than food, we lose culture, history, identity.”
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders bar in Manchester has closed with immediate effect
This one maybe stuck around for a bit longer than anyone expected, if we’re being honest, but the enormous Peaky Blinders-inspired bar on Peter Street shut down back in March.
Peaky Blinders opened back in 2018 in the former Sakana site, with plenty of nods to the popular Netflix series – including oil paintings of the main characters on the wall.
Peaky Blinders said in a statement: “It is with an extremely heavy heart that we unfortunately have to announce the closure of Peaky Blinders Manchester with immediate effect. We are devastated it has had to end this way, but grateful for the journey.”
It was known and loved for its epic happy hour deals and its bottomless brunches, but glitzy Spinningfields bar Banyan shut down right at the start of this year.
It’s part of the Arc Inspirations group that also operates Manahatta and Box, and still operates another Banyan across town at the Corn Exchange.
Their sign in the door read: “Thank you so much for your custom over the years, we’ve loved being part of this wonderful city and have made so many friends.
“Don’t be a stranger, we’d love to continue to welcome you to our Banyan bar in the Corn Exchange. Team Banyan.”
House of Fu
One of Manchester’s coolest ramen spots quietly closed its doors in March, saying the site just ‘doesn’t click’.
House of Fu opened just two and a half years ago on Portland Street, following major success across in Leeds.
They wrote: “It’s been a wild two and a half years. To say the economic landscape has been challenging would be a bit of an understatement, but sometimes a site just doesn’t click. You live and hopefully learn.”
Project Halcyon
Project Halcyon also made the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list. Credit: The Manc GroupProject Halcyon also made the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list. Credit: The Manc Group
Project Halcyon was formerly named one of the best cocktail bars in the UK, famed for its speakeasy-style setting that drew inspiration from Prohibition-era Chicago.
But it closed for good back in February, writing: “Project Halcyon has poured its last cocktail.
“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on.
“Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”
Simmons
London-born bar brand Simmons closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location, right in the heart of one of town’s busiest nightlife strips.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, Simmons had a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly didn’t quite take off as planned here in Manchester.
They wrote: “It’s never easy to say goodbye. We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
Renting is now cheaper than buying across much of the UK – but not in one Greater Manchester area
Emily Sergeant
New statistics have revealed that renting a property is now cheaper than buying one across much of the UK.
But in one popular Greater Manchester area, it still remains the other way around.
According to leading property platform Rightmove, which has analysed the latest price data, the average monthly rent in Great Britain is now lower than a typical new mortgage payment – with the average advertised monthly rent nationwide being £1,547 and a new mortgage on a typical home currently costing around £1,670 a month.
This means that renters, for the first time since June 2025, are coming out £123 a month better off than buyers.
Rightmove says that, to arrive at that figure, it used the current average asking price of £373,971, paired with the average two-year fixed rate of 5.35% recorded so far in April, and with calculations assuming a 20% deposit and a 30-year term.
So, what has changed then? Well, the simple answer is that mortgage rates have gone up.
Renting a home is now cheaper than buying one across much of the UK / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
The average two-year fixed rate sat at 4.24% in February, but by April, it had climbed to 5.35%, and unfortunately, that increase is enough to push a new buyer’s monthly payment above what many people are currently paying in rent.
The national picture does not tell the whole story though, however, as there are real differences from one part of the country to another, largely driven by local property prices.
As mentioned earlier, there is one popular Greater Manchester residential area where buying is still cheaper than renting overall, according to the latest data – and that is Salford.
In Salford, the average asking price of a property is £245,478 with an average monthly mortgage repayment being £1,096, whereas the average monthly rent sits at £1,323, so this means that a +£277 difference.
Rightmove property experts say Salford is helped by ‘more affordable’ property prices keeping borrowing costs ‘in check’.
“Mortgage payments have risen quite sharply in a short space of time for new buyers,” commented Rightmove property expert, Colleen Babcock.
“It will be interesting to see whether more would-be buyers turn to renting temporarily while rates remain high, particularly when monthly costs can exceed average rents and the timing of rate cuts is still unclear.”
The Manc -
4th March 2021 
