Who in Labour is backing a second lockdown - and who is not?
Many of the party’s northern mayors have spoken out against new coronavirus rules

Keir Starmer’s decision to back calls for a national circuit-breaker lockdown in response to the UK’s rising Covid-19 infection rate has put the Labour leader at odds with Boris Johnson - and also several prominent members in his own party.
In Westminster, Labour is pushing a reluctant Conservative government towards tighter controls, but those positions are reversed in many northern English cities. Several Labour mayors and council leaders have argued against new lockdown measures and have accused the prime minister of imposing unnecessary restrictions on their regions.
Liverpool
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Steve Rotheram, the Labour metro mayor of the Liverpool city region, has “questioned the wisdom of closing gyms and leisure centres as part of the tier three Covid-19 lockdown for the area”, says the Liverpool Echo.
While urging the public to “follow the guidance on social distancing, face coverings and washing hands”, Rotheram has accused Johnson of using the North as a “petri dish” to test closures affecting the hospitality industry.
“What we’ve asked for is the scientific evidence that supports the contention by our national government that these are the only measures that will work in our local area,” the Liverpool mayor told Channel 4 News.
Manchester
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Greater Manchester is expected to join Liverpool in tier three soon, but “local leaders are resisting”, says the Manchester Evening News. Andy Burnham, the city’s Labour mayor, is among those “arguing that there is no evidence that transmission in hospitality is driving transmission”, the paper adds.
“Burnham has vowed to consider legal action if the strictest tier of coronavirus restrictions is imposed on the region,” reports Sky News.
Like Liverpool’s Rotheram, Burnham has also criticised the manner in which restrictions have been introduced, along with their economic impact. At an online press conference yesterday, he vowed not to “cave into the pressure” to accept a new lockdown and said that decisions were being taken “by imposition, not consent”.
In London, by contrast, Labour mayor Sadiq Khan had actively supported tighter restrictions even before the decision was announced today to move the capital from tier one to two. Under the new regulations, households may no longer mix indoors, but restaurants and pubs may remain open.
“The mayor has previously insisted London should move as a whole into higher restrictions despite variable rates across the capital,” the Daily Mail reports.
Khan was an early proponent of the nationwide shutdown earlier this year and has also backed Starmer’s call for another UK-wide lockdown to coincide with half-term.
“I think there is a virtue in the government following the advice from Sage [the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies], and having a national circuit-breaker for two or so weeks beginning next week,” Khan told ITV News on Tuesday.
Holden Frith is The Week’s digital director. He also makes regular appearances on “The Week Unwrapped”, speaking about subjects as diverse as vaccine development and bionic bomb-sniffing locusts. He joined The Week in 2013, spending five years editing the magazine’s website. Before that, he was deputy digital editor at The Sunday Times. He has also been TheTimes.co.uk’s technology editor and the launch editor of Wired magazine’s UK website. Holden has worked in journalism for nearly two decades, having started his professional career while completing an English literature degree at Cambridge University. He followed that with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. A keen photographer, he also writes travel features whenever he gets the chance.
-
GPS jamming: a new danger to civil aircraft
The Explainer Use of the 'invisible threat' is on the rise
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?
Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
Educating Yorkshire: a 'quietly groundbreaking' documentary
The Week Recommends The 'uplifting' return to Thornhill Community Academy is a 'tonic' for tough times
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?
Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
Can anyone save Jimmy Lai?
Today's Big Question 'Britain's shameful inaction' will mean it's partly 'responsible' if Hong Kong businessman dies in prison
-
Jonathan Powell: who is the man behind Keir Starmer's foreign policy?
Today's Big Question Prime minister's national security adviser is a 'world-class operator'
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Can Gaza aid drops work?
Today's Big Question UN's Palestinian refugee agency calls plan a 'distraction and smokescreen' as pressure mounts on Israel to agree ceasefire and fully open land crossings
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?
Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance