- becky morton
- political reporter
image source, Getty Images
Conservative MP Natalie Elphike has defected to Labor, saying the party has become “synonymous with incompetence and division”.
In a statement released just before PMQs began, the Dover MP said housing and border security were the main factors in the decision.
She accused Rishi Sunak of “breaking promises” and abandoning important commitments.
The BBC understands that Labor will retain its existing candidates in Dover and Deal at the next general election, with Mr Elphike resigning.
This constituency replaced the Dover constituency, where Mr Elphike held a majority of 12,278 at the last election.
In dramatic scenes, the Prime Minister’s questions began in the House of Commons with Mr Elphicke walking across the floor to sit behind Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Many Conservative seats expressed bewilderment and confusion.
The news was only announced at midday, and many Tory MPs were reminded that their former colleague was now sitting across from them, rather than on their side – directly behind Sir Keir. , so I didn’t realize that Sir Keir was on camera when he was speaking.
Lord Keir welcomed her to the party and told Mr Sunak: ‘When the Conservative MP for Dover, who is on the front line of the small craft crisis, says the Prime Minister cannot be trusted on our borders, he joins the Alliance. What does it mean for this failed government to totter along?” Labor”.
Dover is the arrival point for many people crossing the Channel in small boats.
In a statement, Mr Elphike said Mr Sunak’s government was “failing to keep our borders secure”, adding that lives were being lost in the English Channel and small boat arrivals were at “record levels”. ‘ has been reached.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: ‘The residents of Dover and Deal will be disappointed to feel the impact of illegal immigration.
“They had MPs who sat with the party fighting to tackle this problem head-on, and now they have MPs from the party that has worked to block our plans to tackle illegal immigration 139 times. .”
In April last year, Ms Elphike wrote in the Express that Labor had “no independent plan to deal with illegal immigration” and said the government’s plan for Rwanda was “world-leading”.
Labor has vowed to scrap the scheme, which would have seen some asylum seekers sent to the East African country, if it wins power.
Asked whether he had changed his mind about Labour’s immigration policy, Mr Elphike said Mr Sunak had not stopped small boat traffic and that Labor would tackle the issue.
The lawmaker said he was not given a title to go into exile, but was asked to contribute to the housing sector.
Lord Keir said Ms Elphike had an “excellent track record on issues such as housing” and was “on the front line when it comes to the small craft crisis”.
Transport Minister Hugh Merriman said he was “completely surprised” by the defection and accused Elphike of being “opportunistic”.
“She just recently wrote an article saying don’t trust Labor on immigration, that Labor really wants open borders. And now she’s sitting with them,” he told the BBC. .
On the housing issue, Elphike said the government had “failed to build the housing we needed” and had “betrayed” landlords and leaseholders by failing to deliver on its promises to end no-fault evictions and abolish ground rent. said.
“When I was elected in 2019, the Conservative Party occupied the center of British politics,” she said.
“A lot has changed since then. The elected prime minister [Boris Johnson] He was ousted in a coup led by unsuccessful Rishi Sunak.
“Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservative Party has become synonymous with incompetence and division. centrism has been abandoned, as have the key promises of our 2019 manifesto.”
In contrast, she said Labor had “changed from recognition to nothing” since 2019 and was now “at the center of British politics”.
He added that the party had “a plan to build the housing we need” and that its economic and defense policies were “responsible and reliable”.
Ms Elphike was elected in 2019, taking over the Dover seat held by her disgraced then-husband Charlie Elphike.
This comes after former minister Poulter also defected to Labor over the Conservative Party’s record on the NHS.
This is the fourth time the Conservative Party has left the party since 2019.
Lee Anderson joined the Reform Party earlier this year after briefly serving as an independent, while Christian Wakeford left the Conservative Party for Labor in 2022.
