ST HELENS’ MPs have joined Labour politicians across the region in calling out the government’s unjust treatment of the North in the run up to the second national lockdown.

Council leaders and MPs had been lobbying Downing Street for greater support for workers affected by the Tier 3 lockdown restrictions introduced last month.

Led by the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, the Labour cohort challenged the 67 per cent wage subsidy and asked the Government to match the 80 per cent offered through the furlough scheme.

Ministers refused to  budge on the matter, but on Saturday, the government announced it would be extending the furlough scheme to support workers affected by the new national lockdown.

The double standards sparked outrage from city region leaders, with Liverpool city mayor Joe Anderson accusing the government of showing “contempt” for northern workers.

Mr Rotheram also hit out, saying that we “now we know for sure that the Government thinks workers in the North were worth 13 per cent less than those in the South.”

St Helens’ Labour MPs Conor McGinn and Marie Rimmer have also joined the queue to rally against the government’s treatment of the North.

Mr McGinn, MP for St Helens North and shadow Home Office minister, said: “When St Helens and large areas in the north were being placed in to lockdown, the Government and Tory MPs across the ‘red wall’ said that workers only needed 67 per cent of their wages under the proposed scheme.

“But now that the lockdown is being applied to all of England and impacting London and the south, they have changed their minds and are supporting the 80 per cent scheme.

“While I and Labour colleagues in Merseyside, Greater Manchester and other areas were fighting for a fair deal for our people a few weeks ago, the Tories were arguing we could do lockdown on the cheap for the north.

“Our communities, businesses and workers will be able to see for themselves who is standing up for them and who is selling them short.”

Ms Rimmer, Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, said the decision to originally offer the North less than the rest of the country is an “outrage”.

The former leader of St Helens Council said: “Deep down it shows what the Tories really think about the North.

“When Merseyside and Greater Manchester were in Tier 3 lockdown, we were told that 67 per cent was the best offer.

“As soon as more Conservative seats are included in a lockdown, suddenly 80 per cent furlough is back on the table.

“Quite frankly, it is an outrage and people in the North deserve the same respect from Government.”

Ms Rimmer also accused the Prime Minister of “dithering” over the decision to lockdown the country.

The government failed to act on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ (SAGE) recommendation of a short ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown on September 21, which was backed by Labour.

Ms Rimmer said the country will now “pay a heavy price” for the inaction.

“The reality is that the lockdown and furlough extension decisions should have been taken a month ago,” she said.

“The scientific advisers told the Government on the 21st September to do a circuit breaker lockdown.

“Keir Starmer told Boris Johnson that it was necessary to do a circuit breaker to get control of the situation and to fix test and trace. £12billion has been spent and it still doesn’t work.

“Until it does, we will never get control of the virus.

“Yet once again the Prime Minister has acted too slow. He has made the exact same mistake that he did back in March that led to us being the worst hit country in Europe.

“Our country will pay a heavy price for this constant dithering and delaying.”