"In all my years working in health I've never known an incident of the kind we saw this week" - Andy Burnham admits shock over ambulance crisis so early in the year

revised tier system, which will come into force on December 2 when the national lockdown ends, government ministers will impose the top level of restrictions on the highest risk areas.Previously, ministers had entered into discussions with local leaders over the what measures would be needed and how they would be funded.In Greater Manchester, mayor Andy Burnham led several days of intense talks as he tried to negotiate a more substantial financial package than the one the government had

Grant Shapps had appeared to blame the row for Greater Manchester's high coronavirus infection rates.

hereLast month Andy Burnham and other local leaders spent two weeks negotiating with the government for better financial support to help businesses that would be forced to close, the self-employed and others who lose income, before Tier 3 was eventually imposed. Mr Shapps responded by saying 'individual negotiations' last time led to rates not being 'gotten on top of as quickly as possible'.He said that Liverpool, which agreed to Tier 3 'quite quickly' had seen cases come down quickly and called

coronavirus restrictions.

at the latest Greater Manchester press conference, Mr Burnham said the hospital situation may be stabilising but stressed it is ‘early days’ in terms of positive trends.

Andy Burnham has warned against the introduction of ‘permanent’ coronavirus restrictions once the national lockdown ends.The mayor of Greater Manchester says talks are underway between local leaders and the government about what will happen after December 2.Changes to the national tiered system of restrictions were being considered according to Mr Burnham, though he admitted that it was likely that the city-region would remain in Tier 3.In their decision-making the government has been urged to

night time economy recovery plan has been released by the region's night tsar Sacha Lord, mayor Andy Burnham, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Andy Burnham said more power needs to be taken out of Westminster after Boris Johnson labelled Scottish devolution a 'disaster'.The mayor of Greater Manchester said he was left a 'little worried' by the prime minister's comments.The PM  is understood to have told MPs that devolution had been “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake” during a meeting.Downing Street sources did not deny Mr Johnson made the comments, which were first reported by the Sun, during a discussion with the Northern Research Group of

Let us know your thoughts on the latest Covid situation belowWhile protests are not banned, Covid rules forbid more than two people meeting outdoors if they are not part of the same household.

here"But I don’t want to be at constant loggerheads with them.

We want to hear how you feel about the new national lockdown and how it will affect you. You can fill out our survey below. Click 'display interactive content' or follow this link if you can't see it on your device. His comments come after a number of scientists that advise the government have said keeping schools open during the November lockdown in England could mean infection rates stay higher for longer than when nationwide restrictions were first introduced in March.Former chief scientific

It was only at the beginning of October that bars, restaurants and many other business were allowed to reopen in Bolton after struggling through weeks of some of the harshest local lockdown rules in the country. Conservative Bolton Council leader, David Greenhalgh, has slammed the government, saying he feels the package being proposed by Greater Manchester was 'justified due to the disproportionate way Bolton businesses had been affected over the last months'.

hereHe continued: "This is no way to run the country in a national crisis. This is not right.

Andy Burnham has accused the Government of “playing poker with people’s lives” after talks about a Tier 3 deal broke down.The Greater Manchester mayor said that after days of fraught negotiations between the region’s leaders and ministers, the Government “walked away”.Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce new restrictions for the area in Parliament later today after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said discussions had failed to produce a deal because leaders were “unwilling to

Boris Johnson will use a 5pm press conference to impose tier-three lockdown measures on Greater Manchester after negotiations with mayor Andy Burnham broke up without a deal.

coronavirus restrictions. The Greater Manchester Mayor said health is 'not just about controlling the virus' and that if 'punishing lockdowns are imposed' over winter, people's mental health will suffer.

Mayor Andy Burnham has written to the Prime Minister to reiterate local leaders' 'willingness' to finding an agreement about tighter lockdown rules.Mr Burnham also expresses disappointment at what he calls the government’s ‘selective use of statistics’.In a joint statement with leader of Manchester City Council Sir Richard Leese, the region's mayor said Greater Manchester’s ICU occupancy rate is 'not abnormal for this time of year'.They claim it is 'comparable to the occupancy rate in October