What Burnham is doing goes way beyond Greater Manchester

He's standing up for local government that has been battered and criminally underfunded for the past 10 years

I wrote this (pre-pandemic) about what local government cuts mean for people's health and lives https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpool-babies-dying-lives-being-17817272

This ideological sustained attack on local governments and the vital services they provide has undoubtedly cost countless lives

And it has also left those authorities in a uniquely impossible position when it comes to battling this pandemic

For the government to now refuse to provide appropriate funding at a time of such crisis is beyond a disgrace

...and by this I of course mean for all the everyday people that local governments support every day