"Government have treated us with contempt" - Steve Rotheram

The Prime Minister has shown he thinks voters in the North are worth less than those in the South, regional mayors have said.

On Saturday, the Government announced national coronavirus restrictions and an extension of furlough payments of 80 percent, despite workers in the north of England only being offered 67 percent of pay when businesses were forced to close as part of Tier 3 restrictions.

At an online press conference, Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said: "This morning millions of people woke up knowing the Prime Minister of this country believes the North is worth less than the South."

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said people in the region had "just completed three months of morale-sapping restrictions and now they are waking up to the prospect of a month of even tougher restrictions".

He called for work to be done on a "substantial localisation" of the test and trace system, for self-employed people to be financially supported and for schools to close for two weeks for a "true circuit break".