How Starmer’s ‘fair one nation deal’ is whipping up a Conservative rebellion
Labour motion to standardise Covid financial support will divide ‘red wall’ Tory loyalties

A Labour motion to be voted on this afternoon appears to have been carefully crafted to put Conservative MPs in northern constituencies on the spot.
Keir Starmer’s “fair one nation deal” demands that Boris Johnson set a “clear and fair national criteria for financial support for jobs and businesses” in areas facing the toughest Covid restrictions, and that “people faced with hardship who are subject to the Job Retention Scheme extension will receive at least 80% of their previous incomes”.
Starmer yesterday accused the PM of treating local communities “with contempt”, after Johnson broke off talks with leaders in Greater Manchester and imposed the maximum Tier 3 limits on the region.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Warning that “families and businesses will be deeply anxious that they might not be able to make ends meet under the government’s wholly inadequate proposals”, Starmer said “we need a fair one nation deal that can help us through the second wave”.
“I would urge all Conservative MPs, particularly those in areas of the country that are most affected by this, to vote with us tomorrow and force the government’s hand,” he added.
The Labour leader’s move is widely viewed as a bid to turn the screw on Conservative MPs in northern seats. Or to put that another way, “Starmer’s motion is a carefully crafted attempt to give red wall Tory MPs a world of pain”, says Politico London Playbook’s Alex Wickham.
As Wickham notes, the motion forces these Tories to choose “between rebelling against the government or explaining to their constituents why they aren’t voting for better and clearer financial support”.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
His analysis is echoed by Politics.co.uk editor Ian Dunt, who tweeted that the motion is “designed to cause Tory MPs as much pain as humanely possible”. And HuffPost predicts that “some ‘red wall Tories’ could rebel and back the Labour motion” this afternoon.
An unnamed Labour official told Wickham that “this is one of those moments during a parliament people remember. Was the government or my MP on my side: yes or no? That is what Tory MPs should be thinking when the bell rings at 4pm today.”
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Kim Ju Ae: North Korea’s next leader?
The Explainer Kim Jong Un’s young daughter is being seen as his ‘recognised heir’ following a high-profile public appearance at China summit
-
Is the UK government getting too close to Big Tech?
Today’s Big Question US-UK tech pact, supported by Nvidia and OpenAI, is part of Silicon Valley drive to ‘lock in’ American AI with US allies
-
Russia’s war games and the threat to Nato
In depth Incursion into Poland and Zapad 2025 exercises seen as a test for Europe
-
What is Donald Trump’s visit worth to the UK economy?
In the Spotlight Centrepiece of the president’s trip, business-wise, is a ‘technology partnership’
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Angela Rayner: the rise and fall of a Labour stalwart
In the Spotlight Deputy prime minister resigned after she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
The runners and riders for the Labour deputy leadership
The Explainer Race to replace Angela Rayner likely to come down to Starmer loyalist vs. soft-left MP supported by backbenchers and unions
-
How should Keir Starmer right the Labour ship?
Today's Big Question Rightward shift on immigration and welfare not the answer to 'haemorrhaging of hope, trust and electoral support'
-
Can anyone save Jimmy Lai?
Today's Big Question 'Britain's shameful inaction' will mean it's partly 'responsible' if Hong Kong businessman dies in prison
-
Jonathan Powell: who is the man behind Keir Starmer's foreign policy?
Today's Big Question Prime minister's national security adviser is a 'world-class operator'