A short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock on the Covid crisis

“A short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock, slow down the virus and buy us more time.” The Welsh government has announced a ‘firebreak’ lockdown starting at 6pm on Friday. It will look pretty similar to the UK-wide restrictions seen at the height of the pandemic in March, with the key exception that primary schools – and secondary schools for years seven and eight – will reopen in the second week of the lockdown when the half term ends. Mark Drakeford has announced economic support of almost £300m alongside the measure, but the First Minister told Rishi Sunak that more support for workers is needed in the Covid crisis. He warned: “Only the UK government has the financial firepower to guarantee the levels of income support workers need.”

Meanwhile in England, we are just hours away from 2.8 million people being forced into Tier 3 restrictions without adequate economic support, with the government on track to reject the concerns voiced by their local leaders. Mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of “trying to respond to a pandemic on the cheap” as Greater Manchester local leaders face a midday deadline to agree to enter the most severe measures. A late-night ultimatum was delivered by Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick via the media last night, saying that restrictions will be brought in unilaterally if no deal is agreed.

The offer on the table, outlined in a letter to council leaders yesterday, is £22m for enforcement and support for vulnerable people, while ministers have said that there will be “additional support commensurate with what we have done in Liverpool City Region and in Lancashire”. Merseyside received a financial settlement of £44m, while the government gave Lancashire £42m. But, as Burnham has pointed out this morning, Greater Manchester leaders have never been told how much that support will be. He has said they will write to the PM with what they think is a “fair figure” today, but the mayor has also acknowledged that he will ultimately have to accept the decision of the government.

In other news, ballots have started to drop into members’ inboxes for the national executive committee elections. This marks the beginning of the end of the (very long) process of electing new reps to the party’s governing body, and LabourList has put together a handy explainer on the state of play as voting opens. And make sure you also check out our exclusive interview with UNISON general secretary candidate Christina McAnea on compromise, Communists and Red Clydeside as she discussed her working-class roots and plans for the future.

The LabourList team sends its best wishes to Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi, who is currently in hospital being treated for Covid.