We were treated in a way that other parts of the country were not
Five years after the first lockdown, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry arrives in Manchester to gather the testimonies of those who endured not only a shared national trauma, but a distinctly local one — shaped by pre-existing deprivation, disproportionate restrictions, and a political stand-off that left deep wounds. The inquiry seeks both accountability and preparation, recognising that how a society remembers its crises determines how it faces the ones still to come. For Greater Manchester, this is not merely a civic exercise; it is an invitation, long overdue, to be heard.
- Greater Manchester enters the inquiry carrying a grievance beyond grief — government documents revealed officials discussed giving the region a 'punishment beating' for daring to demand fair financial support during the Tier 3 stand-off.
- Andy Burnham's public confrontation with Westminster in October 2020 exposed a fracture between central government and local leaders that left workers, families, and communities without adequate protection at their most vulnerable.
- The region's existing inequalities — higher deprivation, worse health outcomes, overcrowded housing — meant the pandemic did not simply arrive here; it detonated against a population already carrying too much.
- The inquiry sets up at Manchester Town Hall Extension this week, offering residents multiple ways to contribute their stories, with counsellors on hand for those for whom remembering is still a wound.
- With 54,000 testimonies already gathered nationally, the inquiry now turns toward recommendations — the implicit acknowledgement that another pandemic is not a question of if, but when.
Five years after the first lockdown, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has come to Manchester — and for a region that experienced the pandemic differently than almost anywhere else in Britain, the timing carries weight.
When Boris Johnson announced national lockdown in March 2020, the country entered a shared trauma. But by autumn, Greater Manchester's story had diverged sharply. In October 2020, Mayor Andy Burnham refused to accept Tier 3 restrictions without adequate financial support for workers facing lost income. The government imposed them anyway — and it later emerged that officials had discussed giving the region a 'punishment beating' for Burnham's resistance. The political wound, he told the inquiry, was real and deliberate.
The region was already carrying more than most. Higher deprivation, worse housing, greater pollution, fewer resources — the pandemic did not create these conditions, but it sharpened them into something acute. Infection rates surged. Hospitals strained. The NHS bent under pressure it was never built to absorb alone.
Now the inquiry wants to hear from the people who lived it. Deputy secretary Kate Eisenstein was clear that no story is too small — a toy a child clung to for comfort, a new hobby discovered in isolation, a grief that still hasn't fully settled. The hearings run Thursday and Friday at Manchester Town Hall Extension, with options to speak in person, dictate to a recorder, or contribute online. Counsellors will be present throughout.
The inquiry's dual purpose is both retrospective and forward-looking: to establish what actually happened, and to build recommendations for the next pandemic — because there will be one. For many in Greater Manchester, this week is something rarer still: a chance, finally, to be heard.
Five years after the first lockdown announcement, Greater Manchester is finally getting its turn to speak. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is coming to Manchester this week—Thursday and Friday—to sit down with people who lived through the pandemic and hear what it actually felt like, what it cost them, what they lost and what they learned. The inquiry has already collected stories from around 54,000 people across the country. Now it wants to hear from this region, which experienced the pandemic differently than most places in Britain.
When Boris Johnson announced the first national lockdown in March 2020, millions of people across the country watched together. What followed was a shared national trauma: grief, illness, death, and a disease that would leave marks on people's bodies and minds for years to come. But by autumn 2020, Greater Manchester's experience had become something else entirely. The region was hit with the toughest restrictions in the country—and then, it was punished for having the audacity to push back.
The stand-off happened in October 2020, when Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, refused to accept Tier 3 restrictions without adequate financial support for workers who would lose income. On October 20, Burnham found out during a press conference outside Bridgewater Hall that the government had made its decision anyway, without reaching an agreement with local leaders. Later, at the Covid Inquiry, it emerged that government officials had discussed giving Greater Manchester a "punishment beating" because of Burnham's "appalling behaviour." The mayor told the inquiry that no borough in Greater London would have been treated the way Bolton was treated. The political wound was real and deliberate.
Greater Manchester was already struggling before the pandemic arrived. The region had some of the worst health outcomes in the country—higher deprivation, higher pollution, worse housing, fewer jobs. The pandemic didn't create these inequalities; it sharpened them. Infection rates soared. Hospital admissions climbed. The NHS buckled under the pressure. The region's existing vulnerabilities became a liability.
Kate Eisenstein, the inquiry's deputy secretary, explained what they're looking for when people come forward. "We really want to hear from as many people as possible about their pandemic story," she said. The inquiry has two goals: establish what actually happened, and make recommendations so the country is better prepared for the next pandemic. Because there will be another one. They just don't know when.
The stories the inquiry has collected so far range widely. Some people discovered new hobbies, spent more time with family, felt stress lift away. Others experienced mental health crises, job insecurity, profound isolation. In Manchester, they're particularly interested in whether students at the universities had a different experience than older people living alone, or whether frontline workers in hospitals felt differently than people in rural Saddleworth. They want to hear from care home managers who had to make impossible decisions every day about safety. They want to hear from parents about the toys their children clung to for comfort, and from people who took up knitting because they suddenly had time.
The inquiry will be set up at Manchester Town Hall Extension, next to Central Library, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on both days. People can fill out a form on their own, talk to someone who will write down their story, or participate online. Counsellors will be present for anyone who becomes distressed. Eisenstein was clear: there is no right or wrong story to share. A small memory can matter just as much as a major loss. "This is about us understanding as many stories as we can possibly hear," she said. For some people, revisiting the pandemic will be painful. For others, it might be cathartic—a chance, finally, to be heard.
Notable Quotes
It just felt that we were treated in a way that other parts of the country were treated. There is no way that a borough in Greater London would have been treated in the way Bolton was.— Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to the inquiry
We really want to hear from as many people as possible about their pandemic story... The Covid inquiry has two goals. The first is, establish the facts of what happened during the pandemic. The second is to make findings and recommendations that will help the UK be better prepared for the next pandemic.— Kate Eisenstein, Deputy Secretary of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Greater Manchester gets its own hearing, specifically? Isn't the inquiry already collecting stories from across the country?
Because what happened here wasn't the same as what happened elsewhere. The region faced the harshest restrictions in the country, and then the government made an example of it for resisting. That's a story that needs to be told in its own place, with the people who lived it.
The "punishment beating" comment—that's a real quote from government officials?
It is. It came out during the inquiry hearings in 2023. Officials said Greater Manchester deserved harsher treatment because of Andy Burnham's behaviour during the Tier 3 stand-off. It wasn't speculation or interpretation. It was documented.
What was the stand-off actually about?
Money. Burnham refused to accept Tier 3 restrictions without adequate financial support for workers who would lose income. The government imposed the restrictions anyway, without reaching an agreement. It was a power play, and the region paid the price.
So this inquiry is partly about accountability?
It's about establishing facts and making recommendations for the future. But yes—for many people, it's also about being heard, about having their experience validated. That matters.
Do people actually want to revisit this? It sounds painful.
Some don't. But the inquiry says it can be cathartic. And they're creating a safe space for it—counsellors on site, confidentiality, no judgment. Sometimes you need to tell your story to someone who's actually listening.