In this time of crisis, the government needs to start listening or risk a greater north-south divide

Boris Johnson is ignoring the concerns of regional mayors and starving them of the funding they need to keep their communities safe

Two weeks ago, I joined the eight other English regional mayors on a phone call with the prime minister. We had a friendly discussion about the release from lockdown and the need for the regions to be empowered to lead recovery within a national framework.

I took the opportunity to repeat a call for a safety-led approach to any release. But I also made a point of saying how important it was for us all to preserve a sense of national unity. Given the complexity of what lay ahead, that would mean being properly involved in what comes next.

When I listened to the PM last Sunday, and observing the government's behaviour this week, it has felt as though they had decided to do the opposite of what I was asking. Life has changed and, suddenly, everything feels very fractious.

In Greater Manchester, we had no real notice of the measures. On the eve of a new working week, the PM was on TV actively encouraging a return to work. Even though that would clearly put more cars on roads and people on trams, no one in government thought it important to tell the cities who would have to cope with that.

Far from a planned, safety-led approach, this looked like another exercise in Cummings chaos theory. But it wasn't just the lack of notice that was the problem. The surprisingly permissive package might well be right for the south-east, given the drop in cases there. But my gut feeling told me it was too soon for the north. Certainly, the abrupt dropping of the clear stay at home" message felt premature.

If the government had taken us through their reasoning, perhaps we could have been reassured. But this brings me to a recurrent problem throughout the crisis. The mayor of London is on Cobra, and rightly so. But there is no place for any mayors from the rest of England. For a government elected on votes in the north, and promises to level-up", it is surprising how quickly they reverted to the default London-centric mode in this crisis. Last Sunday's package certainly felt more suited to the south than the north.

If the government carries on in the same vein, expect to see an even greater fracturing of national unity