‘Shocking but not surprising’: Northern England hit hardest by coronavirus, new research shows

It is something many people in areas such Manchester, Liverpool and Bradford might have felt they already knew; now research has proven it. The north of England has been hit harder by coronavirus than anywhere else in the country.

Mortality rates are worse here even after taking into account factors such as deprivation, ethnicity and age, a study by the Northern Health Science Alliance has found.

An extra 12.4 people per 100,000 died with Covid-19 in the Northern Powerhouse area between March and July than elsewhere in the country, it estimates.

And it argued that the resulting financial hit — an estimated £6.86bn has been wiped off the region’s economy — would now exacerbate poverty, reduce employment opportunities and hurt educational attainment unless action was taken to reduce the country’s inequalities.

"Our report highlights that we are not all in the pandemic together," lead author Clare Bambra, professor of public health at Newcastle University, wrote.

"Health and wealth in the Northern Powerhouse lagged behind the rest of the country even before the pandemic, and over the last year our significant regional inequalities have been exacerbated."

The authors, scientists from the universities of Newcastle, Manchester, York and Liverpool, listed 12 recommendations they said must now be implemented by the government if it was serious about its much-touted levelling up agenda.

They included making more resources available for the NHS test-and-trace system and greater investment in children’s services.

Dr Séamus O'Neill, the NHSA's chief executive, said: “The findings of our report are shocking but, sadly, not surprising.

“The north of England has suffered health and economic inequalities for generations and the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed these inequalities even further.”

The government has been repeatedly slammed by northern leaders, businesses and residents over what many have perceived to be a London-centric approach to combating coronavirus.

Among criticism has been the argument that the national lockdown ended when infection rates, while low in London, were still significantly high in many northern cities; and that regional restrictions — disproportionately implemented in the country’s upper half — have not come with the financial support needed.

In October, Boris Johnson was accused of abandoning workers here when his tier alert systems resulted in hundreds of businesses in the Liverpool city region, Lancashire and Greater Manchester being forced to close, with affected staff covered for only two-thirds of their wage. When similar restrictions were implemented at a national level in November, that figure rose to 80 per cent.

Responding to the new research, Helen Barnard, director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Over a million people in Yorkshire and the Humber alone were living in poverty before coronavirus, and this year has shown us that leveling up is crucial for our health as well as building a stronger economy."

A Department of Health and Social Care said it was putting in place a £30bn plan for jobs across the UK, as well as its £170m funding to increase Universal Credit.

It added: "Throughout the pandemic we have worked hand-in-hand with local authorities and over £300m has already been allocated to local authorities in England to help them stop the spread of the virus in their communities."