Boris Johnson has been warned areas in the UK under local coronavirus restrictions have reached a "tipping point".
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said that the Government is "really in danger of losing the public in the north" if it continues to roll out restrictions without additional support.
Speaking on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Mr Burnham said that people "need a bit of a reset so people can clearly understand what has been asked".
The former Labour minister said that compliance with lockdown rules in Greater Manchester is "pretty high", but said: "I have certainly felt this week that we have reached a tipping point with all of this."
He added: “The Government are really in danger of losing the public in the North of England.
“And actually if they carry on imposing restrictions on the North without proper support for the businesses and the employees affected in the North, we will see a winter of levelling down and the North-South divide getting bigger.”
It comes after Mr Burnham last week told a weekly coronavirus press briefing that coronavirus could do "more harm for the north than Margaret Thatcher".
He said: “If we go into a winter with the north under local restrictions, millions of people under restrictions, businesses suffering because of those restrictions, no support for those businesses, we are going to see a widening of the north-south divide.
“If you look back in years to come you’ll think Covid-19 did more harm to the north of England than Margaret Thatcher and whatever she did in the 1980s.
“This is a real danger that is staring us right in the face. A Government that says it wants to level up cannot put the north of England under restrictions without support. It’s pretty much as simple as that.”
It comes after Mr Johnson said he is working flat-out to make Christmas as normal as possible, but he warned of a “tough winter” ahead in the battle against coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said there will be “bumpy” months ahead, though he hopes the situation will be “radically different” by spring.
He said people should behave “fearlessly” but with common sense as the UK struggles to both contain the virus and keep the economy going.
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