“Their attitude now is: ‘you’ll get what we give you.'”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham arrived at Bridgewater Hall on Tuesday afternoon to share some bad news.
There would be no deal for the North-West region – with local leaders unable to come to an agreement despite 11 days of negotiations.
Greater Manchester would be placed into Tier 3 by force instead – and have extra measures imposed at the stroke of midnight on Thursday evening.
But there was no hint of a defeatist attitude in Burnham’s address.
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The Mayor opened the press conference with typical, politician-like professionalism, but as the conference wore on, his tone became bullish, and eventually angry.
Flanked by members of his local councils, Burnham passionately defended his region and claimed the fight would go on.
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“It cannot be right to close businesses without proper support so they can look after themselves and their families through a very challenging winter that lies ahead of us,” he told reporters.
[This] was not about what we wanted. It was about what we needed.
“The government should realise that, if they are asking people to close down places of work, they have to fully support them.
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“The ‘whatever it takes’ attitude from earlier this year has gone. Now it is ‘you’ll get what we give you’.”
From 00.01 Friday, in every Greater Manchester borough, pubs and bars that do not serve substantial meals will need to close.
Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls, adult gaming centres and soft play areas must also shut.
There is also a total ban on household mixing with people discouraged from travelling in/out of the area.
To cope with the incoming “hardship” of Tier 3, local leaders requested £90m – a demand which was eventually lowered to £65m (which Burnham called the “bare minimum”).
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The government offered Greater Manchester £60m and refused to go any higher.
Hours later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would impose Tier 3 measures on Greater Manchester with £28m of initial support.
The £60m deal – which Health Secretary Matt Hancock insists is “fair” – remains on the table.
Negotiations will continue.
But in the meantime, Greater Manchester has reacted. And so has the rest of the country.
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Down south, a mock London Underground board was created with the message “London stands with Manchester”, whilst Labour Leader Kier Starmer called the government’s treatment of the North West a “disgrace”, claiming his party would force Parliament to vote for a fair deal for communities facing restrictions.
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotherham – whose region is already under Tier 3 restrictions – emphasised there was “solidarity” in the north, criticising the government for “making us fight for millions.”
Within Manchester itself, the mood was one of frustration and disappointment.
Sacha Lord described himself as “speechless” at the government’s actions, claiming it was a “total disregard for the relentless work Andy Burnham and our Leaders have done to keep people in our City region from poverty.”
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy also expressed her irritation, claiming it “feels like this Government is actively working against us to inflict harm on its citizens”.
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Burnham has repeatedly claimed that getting a good deal has been about “more than Greater Manchester.”
The Liverpool ECHO’s political correspondent Liam Thorp described the Mayor as “standing up for local government that has been battered and criminally underfunded for the past 10 years.”
And the flood of support that’s come in for Greater Manchester suggests that Burnham’s actions have indeed struck a chord.
Yesterday’s midday deadline was provided by the government in an attempt to end the tier saga. But the reaction this morning demonstrates that this is far from over.
When talks do finally conclude, whenever that will be, this episode won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
News
Jackass star Bam Margera cancels Manchester shows due to ‘injury’ after street fight video emerges
Danny Jones
Former Jackass star Bam Margera has had to cancel both of his Manchester shows just hours before the first event was supposed to take place due to injury.
The skater, TV personality, filmmaker and former stunt performer is currently in the UK for his Q&A tour and live interview series with DJ and presenter Matt Stocks, having recently played in Glasgow and a pair of shows in the Republic of Ireland.
However, the 44-year-old has unexpectedly had to cancel both of his intimate conversation dates at Gorilla in the city centre, with the venue citing “unforeseen complications emerging from a recent injury”.
He was set to play this evening and again next week on Tuesday, 30 April, with the shows billed as somewhat of a meet and greet with Margera and him “talking from the heart”.
While details surrounding how the scrap arose and the identity of the other man in the video still remain scarce, Margera has officially claimed self-defence. He can be heard shouting several expletives in the man’s direction throughout the altercation.
Responding to what he called a ‘bum fight’ on his other Instagram page, he tells 911: “Get a police officer here. Los Angeles Police Department is fucking worthless…
“You should be ashamed of yourselves… It’s been two hours of us trying to sleep and, fucking, this dude’s throwing shit everywhere and nobody showed up.”
Speaking to TMZ, a representative from his team reiterated that the unidentified male was the aggressor and eventually exited the situation with both parties leaving without injury at the time.
That being said, is still unclear as to whether the incident and the cancellation of his Gorilla shows in Manchester are linked.
Offering a separate statement directly, he added: “I’m not going to be threatened or attacked without defending myself and my friends or people trying to just walk by this idiot, I aimed only to neutralize the threat and ensure the safety of my crew.”
Bam’s rep told the outlet that the altercation ended with no injuries and the aggressor eventually departed and he is still yet to issue a response after calling off the remainder of his dates.
FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans
Danny Jones
The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.
It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.
Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.
Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.
As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.
While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.
Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm.
With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.
The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.