Manchester figures weigh in on early roadmap reports
Local business leaders and MPs are all taking to social media this morning (February 22) to post their opinions following media speculation on what the government exit plan may look like.
Gary Neville has suggested the country should reopen by April 15.
Some of Manchester’s key figures are weighing in with their own verdicts as the first reports of England’s roadmap out of lockdown begin to surface.
Local business leaders and politicians are taking to social media this morning (February 22) to post their opinions following media speculation on what the government exit plan may look like.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to outline the strategy – which he spent last weekend finalising – in more detail to MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon.
A public address will follow later this evening.
It appears that restrictions will be lifted on a national basis rather than through a tiered approach.
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Schools pupils are still due to return on March 8, with relaxations around social mixing expected from March 29.
Measures on other sectors will be lifted in stages, but will need to meet four ‘tests’ along the way, Downing Street has said. These include:
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Successful deployment of vaccine
Continued evidence vaccine is working
Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS
Assessment of the risks not fundamentally changed by new ‘variants of concern’
Among the local figures commenting on these early reports is former Manchester United star and UnitedCity representative Gary Neville, who has argued that all restrictions should be lifted by mid-April.
The early reports are out on the “ Roadmap “. The suggestion seems to be 4 stages will be announced .
I can only think of 2 :
1. Children back in school ASAP 2. Re-open the country the day after all over 50’s and the vulnerable are vaccinated. ( April 15th )
The Hotel Football and Salford City Football Club owner posted on Twitter: “The early reports are out on the ‘Roadmap’.
“The suggestion seems to be 4 stages will be announced.”
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“I can only think of 2.
“1. Children back in school ASAP. 2. Re-open the country the day after all over 50’s and the vulnerable are vaccinated. (April 15th).”
Greater Manchester Nighttime Economy Adviser Sacha Lord also chimed in – claiming if initial reports were true about hospitality not opening until May, Chancellor Rishi Sunak needed to announce a support package.
Lord commented: “We need to wait for the PM to confirm today, BUT, if the return of restaurants/pubs isn’t until May, The Chancellor needs to urgently respond with a clear support package.
“A 10 day wait until 3rd March [the budget announcement] is too long for peoples mental health and anxiety over their jobs/businesses.”
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MP for Manchester Central Lucy Powell echoed Lord’s remarks, stating that economic support must be announced today ahead of the budget.
She stated: “Business rate bills for April landing now for retail, hospitality, hair & beauty, yet unlikely to be open by then; millions remain on furlough too.
“In total £50bn bombshell facing business. Extend support!”
We need to wait for the PM to confirm today, BUT, if the return of restaurants/pubs isn't until May, The Chancellor needs to urgently respond with a clear support package.
A 10 day wait until 3rd March is too long for peoples mental health and anxiety over their jobs/businesses.
Last week, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham urged the government to “go slow and go national” with lifting restrictions, claiming that the lockdown exit was too fast in spring.
Burnham argued that this rapid release of restrictions may have contributed to the likes of Manchester re-entering restrictions by the end of July.
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On Monday morning, the Mayor said that early leaks of the roadmap look “on the right lines”, but that any plan without additional support for those self-isolating had a “bloody big hole in it”.
The leaks of the PM’s roadmap sound like it is on the right lines. ?
BUT …
Any roadmap that comes without a plan to help the 20,000 people who every day tell Test & Trace that they can’t afford to self-isolate is a roadmap with a bloody big hole in it!
The Prime Minister is expected to address MPs at around 3pm.
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‘Danger to life’ amber wind warning issued for Greater Manchester as Storm Éowyn arrives
Emily Sergeant
Storm Éowyn is expected to bring very strong winds and widespread disruption to Greater Manchester later this week.
In case you hadn’t heard, the Met Office named Storm Éowyn yesterday, and confirmed that it will begin to influence the UK’s weather from early on Friday – with strengthening winds initially expected in the south west first, accompanying heavy rainfall, before it quickly spreads to the north and the rest of the UK as the morning progresses.
An amber warning for wind has been issued for large parts of the UK, including the majority of Greater Manchester, for most of the day on Friday.
#StormÉowyn has been named and is forecast to bring strong winds to much of the UK on Friday and into Saturday.
Coming into effect from 6am this Friday (24 January), the weather warning his means that power cuts are likely to occur, transport services will be affected with delays and cancellations, and there is a chance that buildings could be damaged.
Worse than that though, there’s even a ‘danger to life’ too, with potential injuries occurring from flying debris.
Speaking ahead of Storm Éowyn’s arrival in a couple of days time, Mike Silverstone, who is the Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Storm Éowyn will bring a period of very unsettled, potentially disruptive, weather to the UK through Friday and into Saturday.
Warnings for strong winds, heavy rain and snow are in place across many parts of the UK during Thursday, Friday and into the weekend ⚠️
“The strongest gusts are likely to be felt across parts of Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales and western Scotland, where exposed sites could get gusts in excess of 80mph, which has the potential to cause impacts for those in these areas.
“There will also be some heavy rain, bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week.”
The initial warning for Storm Éowyn has been issued several days in advance, so it’s important to stay up to date with the forecast on the Met Office website here in the coming days.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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The 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season has been delayed
Danny Jones
The next Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) season has been officially delayed by nearly three weeks.
Announced on Tuesday, 21 January, the decision has been taken in an effort to help promote the Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC), the proximity of which is rather close to the national union championship competition.
With sporting bodies also trying to nurture a growing interest in female rugby, the start of the next PWR season will be pushed back not only to give players more time to rest but in an effort to drive a larger audience to the WRWC as well, the final of which is being played here in England.
The hope is that it will also better the Red Roses’ chances of winning the international tournament in turn – fingers firmly crossed.
Get excited 🤩
The PWR 2025-26 Season will officially kick off on Saturday 25th October PLUS the PWR Cup will return 🙌
The conclusion of the international tournament is taking place at Twickenham Stadium in London on 27 September, just days before the 2025/26 Premiership season was due to start.
Local side Sale Sharks are sadly at the bottom of the table this current campaign, which kicked off on 5 October 2024 and ends this March, but with eyes already on the WRWC the focus for lots of players in the division will no doubt already be shifting.
Not only is the domestic women’s rugby season being delayed by nearly three whole weeks – meaning the first games won’t happen until 25 October – but this comes after the current schedule of fixtures was also reduced with player recovery in mind ahead of the World Cup.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the PWR’s operations manager, Amy Walmsley, said: “The Rugby World Cup is a generational moment for women’s rugby and will create a huge opportunity for both PWR and our clubs to grow and celebrate with their fans.
“The optimum time between the Rugby World Cup Final and our first league match will ensure we capitalise on what we already know will be the biggest and best World Cup ever, while also ensuring player welfare with adequate rest across the season.”
The stats back it up too as 2024 saw numerous milestones for the women’s game; in addition to record crowds at the Olympics, last year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations was the most viewed on record with 8.1 million fans tuning in, not to mention an increased interest among 18-24-year-olds.
You can find the run-down of the Sale Sharks Women fixtures below:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗜𝗻
All of our fixtures for the 24/25 season are locked in. Let's bring that Northern roar to every game #SharksFamily 🦈
As for the final of the Premiership Women’s Rugby, the date has been reverted to its usual window in June, which should also fit within what congestion remains.
Nevertheless, with the Women’s Six Nations in late April and England – who have won all but one of their last 51 games – set to begin their World Cup on 22 August, the margins are still going to be somewhat fine if they are to head into the tournament in the best shape possible.
With the tickets selling extremely well, the expectation is that the Rugby World Cup final break is set to break the world record for the best-attended women’s rugby fixture in history.
In the meantime, Greater Manchester is gearing up for the men’s action as the Six Nations gets underway at the end of this month and the city is boasting the perfect place to watch it.
The Manc -
22nd February 2021 
