Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that Manchester will face tier 3 restrictions from Friday, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “The utter mess the Government has created today came as a result of a shameful plan to wipe millions of pounds of support away as a punishment. This Government is hurting some of the most vulnerable people in our society by playing politics with the lives and livelihoods of the people of Greater Manchester.
“People across the country will be watching in alarm, under no illusion that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor will not be there for them to ensure they can financially survive the coming months.
“Boris Johnson must swallow his pride and bring back furlough and give communities the funds they need to survive these restrictions. Equally, Ministers are ignoring the fact they must focus on fixing the broken test, trace and isolate system, and work properly with local authorities, so we can beat this virus and get our economy back up and running.”