The real meaning of the battle between Manchester and Westminster

Was this a case of a grasping regional government not awake to the crisis on its doorstep or was it unreasonable penny pinching from Westminster? Ben Chu says it’s important to recognise this as part of a wider battle over power between the centre and the regions

The unspoken belief among Manchester’s leaders, including Andy Burnham, seems to be that a national lockdown would force the government to reform its new furlough scheme (PA)

On the surface it was a bust-up over money. And not that much money in the scheme of things.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and council leaders in the city region refused to voluntarily submit to the region being moved into tier 3 anti-coronavirus restrictions because they said the government was not offering sufficient compensation for the local hospitality businesses that will now be forced to close.

The mayor was asking for a minimum of £65m of assistance for firms from the government, or around £15m for each month of expected restrictions. These are not large sums, certainly not in the context of Greater Manchester’s estimated £71bn-a-year economy.