Coronavirus: 'Winter of discontent' faces North, warns Andy Burnham

Northern England faces a "winter of dangerous discontent" unless the test and trace system improves, the mayor of Greater Manchester has warned.

Andy Burnham said the system was the "first line of defence against the virus" and the government were "over-relying" on restrictions.

Extra rules are now in force for a growing number of areas in the North.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Boris Johnson said it was "too early to say" if the restrictions were working.

The prime minister said: "The advice that we're getting is that, in these areas where we have got stringent local lockdowns, we need to wait and see whether the R [infection rate] starts to come down because some of these things have been intensified […] just in the last few days."

Mr Burnham said: "If there are to be local restrictions, they must come with local control of test and trace, a local furlough scheme, and support for our councils and businesses.

"Put it under local control because the government are using call centres to try and contact people, but we will put boots on the ground and I am absolutely certain that that approach will be more successful."

He also urged the government to consult more with local authorities and clarify rules for neighbouring areas, which he said were "inconsistent".

In Greater Manchester, funerals are limited to 30 people, except Oldham, where they are restricted to 20 people since further rules were enforced in August to curb the spread of coronavirus.

However, the rate of cases has recently risen to 336 per 100,000 people in Manchester, while dropping to 177 per 100,000 in Oldham.

The prime minister said he "understands people's frustrations", adding: "No one has come up with any better proposals that I am aware of."

Mr Burnham also voiced concern the North West would be "levelled down by not just the virus but by the government's failure to support us".

"It was frankly unforgiveable that businesses in Bolton were closed down without the people working given support with their wages. That is going to cause massive damage if that approach continues.

"This could be a winter of dangerous discontent here in the north of England and I think the prime minister needs to wake up to that.

"I think there's a very real and present danger that Covid-19 is going to widen the north-south divide because we are heading into a winter where the north of England is under restrictions unlike the south."

"It's got be a change moment where the government says if we put you under restrictions, this is the guaranteed support you get in return. We haven't got that at the moment."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]