Dry your tiers, mate

OK, I am running out of tier-related puns, but if you can think of some more, let me know.

The Government has been locked in talks with the various mayours of Manchester and Lancashire all day yesterday and this morning, negotiating an aid package as the Government wants to put the whole area into the highest tier.

OK, sa the mayors, but we want an aid package for our hospitality businesses.

THere's no money says the Government.

In which case, we don't accept the upgading of the tier level.

So, there's deadlock.

Made worse by the meeting opening with the Government saying whether you agree to this or not, we will impose this on the area from tomorrow. This, despite that the Government's own scientists say this is not going to work.

To make it even worse, the meeting broke up last night with the agreement that no public statements will be made as talks were due to continue Thursday morning. Someone from Government briefed the press late last night that the upgrading was going to take place this morning anyway.

This drew angry responses from some of the mayors, and now there is a standoff.

Meanwhile, London, Essex, York and other parts of the country have been put in the middle tier in an effort to break the spike in cases. Yesterday, there were 19,972 new cases of COVID in the country, and 137 deaths. News comes of hospitals filling up with new cases, and that crisis levels will be reached by the end of the month, and Johnson still refusing to impose a national lockdown, though that will surely come in time. But any effect of such action will take at least two weeks to filter through to daily infection figures.

JRM has refused to allow MPs to return to being virtual, meaning those Members who are in high risk groups cannot attend or vote. So much for the Mother of all Parliaments, JRM is a mother alright.

There are dark days ahead, not locking down earlier will result in being done later, harder and for longer, costing more and a longer, slower recovery.