THERE have been ten wasted days in Greater Manchester as the politicians have wrangled inconclusively while the infection rate has been rising.

Each side is going to blame the other, but mayor Andy Burnham is right in arguing that the Government’s support package does not go far enough and indeed the measures may not go far enough to break the cycle. It is the poorest in subsidiary jobs who will suffer most as the hospitality sector is shut down and are forced onto benefits to survive, and Mr Burnham was arguing on their behalf.

However, it would have been unfair on Liverpool and Lancashire, which have already agreed Tier 3 restrictions, if the Government were to give Manchester additional support, and, if we are all in this together, we cannot have individual places getting more, or less, money depending on the strength of voice of their representatives.

The Government, though, has muddied the picture by offering Mr Burnham up to £60m, much of which now seems to have evaporated.

The politicians have created a mess. The people of Manchester have to dig them out of it by following the restrictions which we must hope are enough to prevent a full blown lockdown.