Restrictions are clearly not working

Infection rates are soaring, hospital admissions are rising and the testing system has collapsed. There are more patients in hospital with Covid-19 now than when the country went into lockdown in March.

The government has lost control of the virus. A second wave was not inevitable – it is a direct result of the government’s failure.

They have been too slow to act at every stage through this crisis. We cannot afford to be too slow again. We are at a tipping point. This is a national crisis and we need decisive action.

Only one in every three people tested is receiving their results within 24 hours and contact tracing is at a record low after seven wasted months and £12bn of taxpayers’ money. It’s not NHS test and trace, it’s Serco Test and Trace and that’s why it has collapsed. The priority should be saving lives, not boosting profits.

Instead of following scientific advice, the Prime Minister is now ignoring his own scientific advisers. We need a reset button. A two to three-week circuit break will give us the space we need to drive down infections, protect the NHS and fix the testing system.

And we can’t let our people and our businesses be cut adrift and pay the price for the government’s failure - all while consultants working on Serco’s Test and Trace are being paid over £30,000 per week. That’s more than a nurse earns in a year. It’s an absolute disgrace.

I want to thank Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Oldham Council leader Sean Fielding and everyone demanding a fair deal for our people and our communities.

The North is being let down and short changed – the government is offering businesses a fraction of the support that was offered nationally in March.

Under the current arrangements, many businesses in Tier 3 get just £500 a week compared to £1,666 per week during the first lockdown – that will cause real hardship and suffering in Oldham and Tameside.

The vast majority of shut-down leisure and hospitality premises will only be able to access either £334 or £500 per week, depending on their size. That’s either half or a third as much as during the national lockdown earlier this year.