What we know about the local lockdown measures being announced later today
The Prime Minister is announcing a new set of targeted restrictions for cities and towns in England today - but where does Manchester sit in all of this?
The Prime Minister is announcing a new set of targeted restrictions for cities and towns in England today (12 October) – which could result in the closure of pubs, bars, restaurants and gyms in areas with high infection rates.
Plans are being made to place regions into a ‘three tier’ local lockdown system – with each tier having its own set of rules determined by a risk level: ‘medium’, ‘high’, or ‘very high’.
Tier Three would be the strictest – with businesses asked to close and and citizens urged to avoid mixing in any setting.
Reports surfacing over the weekend have suggested that Liverpool is the first to be categorised as Tier Three – with residents now anticipating the mass closure of hospitality.
Casinos and bookmakers are also expected to shut – but schools and universities may remain open.
Numbers have risen sharply in the Liverpool City Region in recent weeks – with Knowsley recording 944 cases per 100,000 people in the two weeks to 4 October (the highest in the country).
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also told his city to “start preparing for additional restrictions” in the coming days, with positive test numbers growing in the capital.
London is at a serious tipping point in the spread of this virus – and we need to start preparing for additional restrictions.
How we act this weekend will determine where we are in the weeks to come.
The most likely outcome is that all ten GM boroughs will be bundled into Tier Two or Three. This would mean that local pubs, bars and possibly restaurants could close as part of a local lockdown.
Infection rates have slowed in recent days, but nonetheless remain at a high level across the board.
Greater Manchester was one of the first areas to be hit by government intervention after the initial lockdown was lifted – with a ban on different households meeting indoors announced in July.
But if new measures are deemed to be too severe, they be contested by Manchester’s local leaders.
Last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a furlough scheme to protect any businesses affected this winter, promising the government would cover two thirds of worker wages.
But Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, alongside other Northern leaders, called the package “insufficient”.
“To accept the Chancellor’s package would be to surrender our residents to hardship and our businesses to potential failure and collapse and we are not prepared to do that,” said Burnham.
Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester Sacha Lord, anticipating the closure of local hospitality, has even launched legal action against the government.
“We have been given no tangible scientific evidence to merit a full closure of hospitality and entertainment sectors,” said Lord.
“[We] have been left with no option than to escalate the matter with legal action.”
In Greater Manchester, we will not accept shutting our pubs/bars without any scientific evidence. That’s why, with the support of @AndyBurnhamGM I’m heading a group to take the Government to a Judicial Review. https://t.co/QYLC6oZQVu
Under the new local lockdown system, it is understood there may be flexibility for local leaders to make decisions for their own area moving ahead.
Reports surfacing this morning suggest that Liverpool will have discretion over the closure of restaurants for example, rather than simply enforcing a blanket ban on hospitality.
The rules and regulations may become clearer later today, as the PM is set to outline the measures in the Commons.
Johnson will then attend a press conference in the evening – joined by Rishi Sunak and England’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Whitty.
News
Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.
So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.
Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10.
Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.
2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied
“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.
“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”
While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.
Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.
“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”
Featured Image – Alex Bracken (via Unsplash)
News
Jason Manford has final word on ‘naughty’ rule that sparked unexpected Village Hotel experience
Danny Jones
Local comedian Jason Manford has shared “the last I’ll say on the matter between The People vs The Village Hotel”, after expressing his disappointment over a rule that saw him have a somewhat unexpected experience at one of their locations.
The Salford-born and Stockport-based stand-up was forced to share his room with another individual at The Village in Bournemouth after being told the hotel was fully booked.
Manford‘s room had essentially been resold, which led him to stay in a double with his friend and colleague; however, as explained in multiple videos, not everyone was fortunate enough to secure a last-minute solution.
Still, on the upside, at least they didn’t have to share a bed…
As detailed in the first of three posts seen above, Manford and co. arrived at the hotel late (as is typically the case with any touring comedian, especially a headliner) following his gig at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Sunday, 29 June.
The 44-year-old is currently on his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour, which saw a flurry of new dates added back in November, and got underway back in February.
Although he assured that the staff did their job and were “lovely” through the whole ordeal, he reiterated that he found the little-known rule “very naughty” and “not on”.
He also mentioned that a doctor who arrived shortly after them at the hotel reception, sadly, had to be turned away from the Bournemouth branch.
Manford went on to add that the hotel manager did apologise for the situation, but as he notes in the clips, the worry is that it could cause even bigger dilemmas if it were a wedding, someone with kids, “or a million different situations that you could have been in which are much more serious than [his].”
Essentially, the duo were just lucky they turned up when they did and said as much.
Despite noting that he’d heard of airlines opting for similar policies in the past, he confessed he’d never come across such a rule in more than “25 years of touring” as a comic.
Echoing his frustration, surprise and concern, musician Georgina Jackson said in the comments: “That is so bad! As a touring lone female musician who uses hotels a lot, what are we expected to do? But the fact is… they don’t really care…
“Thanks for highlighting it, as they might actually start caring when the bookings drop off! And, I imagine the hotel/town was busy with your audience!! How blinking ironic!!”
The hotel group has since asked the Salfordian funny man to take the very public complaints down, but Manford has refused despite them requesting quite “politely”, insisting that he believes more people need to know about obscure and largely unknown rules like these.
You can see the most recent and final statement on the whole Jason Manford-Village Hotel situation in full down below.
The Manc -
12th October 2020 
